Grammar, concord and sentence accuracy

Build sentences around the real subject

Concord means agreement between related parts of a sentence. In subject–verb agreement, the form of the verb fits its subject. A singular present-tense subject usually takes a verb ending in -s: “The student reads.” A plural subject takes the base form: “The students read.” The pattern changes with be: I am, she is, they are. In the past, use I/he/she/it was and we/you/they were. Always identify the subject before choosing the verb. A nearby noun can distract you. In “The box of pencils is missing,” the head of the subject is box; pencils belongs to a phrase describing the box.

Words that make subjects look complicated

Each, every, either and neither normally take singular agreement when they stand alone or directly determine a singular noun: “Each learner has a notebook.” In “Each of the learners has a notebook,” the subject is still each. However, both and several are plural: “Both learners have notebooks.” When two subjects are joined by and, use a plural verb in an ordinary case: “Amina and Bayo are ready.” Expressions such as along with and as well as do not automatically create a compound subject. “The captain, as well as the players, is waiting” agrees with captain.

Some nouns require attention because their form is misleading. News is normally uncountable and singular: “The news is encouraging.” Scissors is plural in form and agreement: “The scissors are sharp.” If you name one pair, agreement follows pair: “This pair of scissors is sharp.” Subjects that name a sum of money or a length of time can take singular agreement when treated as one amount: “Ten minutes is enough.” Meaning matters as well as the final letter. Collective nouns such as team can vary with meaning and variety of English, so assess the full context instead of memorising a rule that they are always singular or always plural.

Pronouns must point clearly

A pronoun replaces or refers to a noun phrase. The noun phrase it refers to is its antecedent. Choose subject forms before a verb when the pronoun is a subject: “She and I arrived.” Choose object forms after a verb or preposition: “The teacher thanked him and me.” To check a joined phrase, temporarily remove the other person. “The teacher thanked I” is incorrect, so “The teacher thanked Ada and I” is also incorrect. Reflexive forms such as myself refer back to the subject or add emphasis; they are not more formal replacements for I or me.

Countability and accurate modifiers

Count nouns can normally take a number: one chair, three chairs. Uncount nouns such as advice, information and equipment do not normally take a plural ending in these meanings. Write “some advice” or “two pieces of advice,” not “two advices.” Use many and fewer with plural count nouns, and much and less with uncount nouns in standard examination usage. Adjectives describe nouns; adverbs often modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. Compare “a careful driver” with “she drives carefully.” After a linking verb such as seem, an adjective can describe the subject: “The answer seems reasonable.”

A reliable checking routine

Read the complete sentence, locate the subject, remove interrupting phrases mentally, and test the verb. Next check pronoun case, countability and the meaning of the modifier. Do not choose an option just because it sounds longer or more formal. In a passage, keep reference consistent so that readers know who performs each action. Finally reread your completed sentence naturally. This routine turns several apparently separate grammar topics into one practical habit: make every part of the sentence support its intended meaning.

Diagnose the sentence before correcting it

A useful editing routine begins with the finite verb. This is the verb that carries tense or is part of a tense-bearing verb group. In “The children who live near the river have returned,” the main verb group is have returned. Ask who has returned. The answer is the children, not the river. The relative clause gives additional information and must not pull the main verb into singular agreement. Marking the boundaries of noun phrases prevents this common error more reliably than listening for which option sounds familiar.

Agreement can become less obvious when the normal word order changes. In “There are two reasons for the delay,” there introduces the construction; the following plural noun phrase controls the ordinary agreement choice. Compare “There is one reason.” Questions also place an auxiliary before the subject: “Does the monitor know?” The auxiliary does agrees with monitor, and the following lexical verb stays in its base form, know. “Does the monitor knows?” incorrectly marks the same present-tense agreement twice.

Articles, quantity and reference

Use a or an according to the first sound, rather than the first letter: a university begins with a consonant-like sound, whereas an hour begins with a vowel sound. A singular countable noun usually needs a determiner when used as an ordinary noun phrase: “She bought a dictionary,” not “She bought dictionary.” Uncountable nouns generally do not take a directly: information, equipment and advice. Say “some useful advice” or “a useful piece of advice.” These patterns belong to standard formal examination English even when informal local usage differs.

The definite article the identifies something the reader can recover from the context. “A teacher entered. The teacher carried a folder.” The first mention introduces a person; the second points back to that person. Do not insert the mechanically before every institution, abstract idea or proper name. Reference depends on the actual phrase and its intended meaning. A dictionary and careful reading are better guides than a single rule claiming that all geographical names behave identically.

Coordination and parallel structure

Coordinate items that perform the same grammatical job. “She enjoys reading, swimming and drawing” presents three comparable -ing forms. “She enjoys reading, swimming and to draw” breaks that pattern. Parallel structure is especially useful in lists, headings and arguments because it lets the reader recognise how the parts relate. It does not require every sentence in a paragraph to look alike; variety remains valuable when the grammatical relationships are clear.

Place a modifier close enough to its target to avoid a misleading reading. “Walking towards the laboratory, the broken bottle was noticed by Amaka” appears to make the bottle do the walking. Revise it to “Walking towards the laboratory, Amaka noticed the broken bottle.” The revision gives the introductory phrase a sensible subject. Likewise, “Only Tunde borrowed my calculator” differs from “Tunde borrowed only my calculator.” The position of only changes the focus, so editing must consider meaning as well as form.

Self-check and transfer

Correct “Each of the laboratory assistants have a key.” Identify each as the singular head, then write “Each of the laboratory assistants has a key.” Correct “The principal gave us an advice.” Advice is uncountable in this use, so write “The principal gave us some advice.” Finally, explain the difference between “The students were nearly late” and “Nearly all the students were late.” The first concerns how close arrival was to the deadline; the second concerns the proportion who actually arrived late. An accurate correction preserves the intended idea.

Word classes, degree and mood

A word's class and its function must be distinguished. In “Reading improves concentration,” reading functions as the subject even though its form comes from a verb. In “The careful learner works carefully,” careful is an adjective modifying learner, while carefully is an adverb modifying works. Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, determiners, prepositions and conjunctions participate in different patterns. Classify the word in its actual use rather than assuming its spelling gives it one permanent job.

Degree compares qualities. Positive tall, comparative taller and superlative tallest illustrate a regular pattern; good, better and best illustrate an irregular one. Longer adjectives commonly use more and most, as in more careful and most careful. Avoid double marking such as more better or most tallest. Comparisons need a clear basis: “Amina is taller than Bisi” compares height, while “Amina is the tallest learner in the class” identifies a maximum within a group. Not every adjective is normally gradable in every sense.

Grammatical mood concerns how a clause presents an assertion, command, wish or hypothetical situation. An indicative clause can state or question; an imperative commonly directs action, as in “Open the door.” Formal patterns can retain a base form in a mandative clause: “The teacher recommended that he be present.” Hypothetical “If I were you” differs from a claim about an actual past event. Usage varies across varieties and levels of formality, so apply the convention relevant to the task and preserve the intended meaning.

Question tags commonly match the auxiliary and pronoun of the main clause and reverse polarity: “She has finished, hasn't she?” “They aren't ready, are they?” With a simple present lexical verb, use do or does: “Tunde knows, doesn't he?” Negative words such as never make the clause negative in meaning: “She never complains, does she?” A familiar special pattern is “I am late, aren't I?” Tags have interactional meanings as well as forms, and intonation can change whether they seek information or confirmation.