Notes on the 24 Rules of Concord
Rule 1: Subject and verb concord
Definition: When the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; when the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.
Form: matching number between subject and verb.
Examples from transcript:
"She (singular subject) goes (singular verb)" vs "She go (plural verb)" (incorrect).
"The girls (plural subject) go (plural verb)" vs "The girls (plural subject) goes (singular verb)" (incorrect).
Key takeaway: Always align verb with the grammatical number of the subject.
Rule 2: Subject and Object concord
Rule: When everybody or everyone is used, the object must be singular, not plural.
Example: "Everybody knows his or her name" (not "Everybody knows their name").
Note: This rule affects pronoun-possessive agreement in addition to the verb.
Rule 3: Mandative subjunctive concord
Context: After prayers, suggestions, wishes, demands, recommendations, or resolutions, the verb that follows is treated according to a special mood (subjunctive).
Transcript claim: the verb following these triggers is plural, regardless of the subject’s number.
Examples (as given):
"It has been suggested that he go not (goes) away." (intended subjunctive: base form; transcript shows conflicting form)
"The board has Recommend that the manager resign not-resigns." (intended subjunctive: resign)
"I pray that God help me not helps" (intended subjunctive: help)
Note: The transcript presents the rule with examples that mix traditional subjunctive usage; in standard English, mandative subjunctive uses the base form after verbs of suggestion/command (e.g., "that he go"), not a plural form.
Rule 4: The Principle of proximity
Principle: When listing multiple nouns/pronouns at the subject level joined by "or" or "nor" (and in some cases with other conjunctions), the nearest noun/pronoun to the verb determines agreement.
Transcript example (two versions due to transcription):
Example A (conflicting): If James fails his examination, his teachers, his parents, his friends, or I () to be blame. The nearest subject claimed is I, so the answer would be "am".
Example B: If James fails his examination, his teachers, his parents, his friends, or John () to be blame. The nearest subject to the gap is John, so the correct verb would be "is".
Takeaway: In a disjunctive list with "or", identify the closest subject to the gap to determine the verb.
Rule 5: Many a concord
Rule: With "many a" (singular determiner), the following verb and noun are singular.
Examples:
"Many a candidate (not candidates) speaks (not speak) bad English expressions."
"Many a girl (not girls) is (not are) here."
Note: The intended meaning is plural (many candidates, many girls), but the grammar requires singular after "many a".
Rule 6: A pair of concord
Rule: With "a pair of …" the verb is singular.
Examples:
"A pair of trousers (not trouser) lies (not lie) on the bed."
"A pair of scissors lies (not lie) on the table."
Rationale: The head noun is "pair" (singular), even though the pair denotes two items.
Rule 7: National Concord (collective noun concord)
Definition: Collective nouns can refer to a group of individuals; they often require a plural verb when the group is acting as a unit that performs an action.
Examples:
"An audience" (collective) refers to people who watch.
"The congregation" (collective) refers to worshipers.
"Clergy" (collective) refers to religious officers.
"A club" (collective) refers to the association of members.
General pattern: Depending on whether the collective noun performs an action, verb form may be plural or singular.
Rule 8: Parenthesis
Definition: A parenthesis contains additional information or asides and should not affect the main subject-verb agreement.
Examples:
"The teacher, not her students, is in the class." (is is correct)
"The manager, not many of his workers, is here now." (is is correct; ignore the parenthetical phrase for agreement)
Rule 9: Accompaniment Concord
Context: Phrases like "as well as", "alongside", "together with", etc., introduce accompanying information.
Rule: The subject is the noun before the marker (the accompaniment) and the verb agrees with that noun, not with the noun inside the accompaniment.
Examples:
"Mary, as well as her friends, is beautiful." → subject before "as well as" is singular (Mary) → "is".
"The little kids alongside their parents are here." → subject before "alongside" is plural (kids) → "are".
Rule 10: More than concord
Rule: After "more than", the noun/pronoun that comes after determines the verb.
Examples:
"More than two apples are (not is) here."
"More than one oranges is (not are) here."
Note: Do not assume plurals automatically require a plural verb; the determiner after "more than" controls the form.
Rule 11: Indefinite pronoun concord
Rule: When indefinite pronouns like everybody, everything, everyone, everywhere, no one, nothing, somebody, someone, etc., are used, the verb should be singular.
Examples:
"Nothing goes (not go)."
"Everybody likes (not like) him."
"Everybody thinks (not think) he stole the money."
Rule 12: Relative Concord
Rule: When who, whose, which, and that refer to a previously mentioned noun or pronoun, that noun is treated as the antecedent in forming agreement.
Note: The transcript frames this as a relative concord rule related to antecedents; the verb agreement depends on the relative clause’s subject-verb relationship with the antecedent.
Rule 13: Uncountable nouns of concord
Distinction: Countable nouns can be quantified in units; uncountable (mass/abstract) nouns cannot be counted in units.
Examples of countable: chairs, tables, phones.
Examples of uncountable: water, information, equipment.
Note: Uncountables typically do not take an -s plural ending.
Commonly wrong forms to avoid (according to transcript): informations, clothes, equipments, furnitures, machineries, datas, advices, evidences, wealths, etc.
Correct usage: use phrases like "a piece of information," "evidence," "data," "cloth" (singular), "equipment," "advice".
Additional notes on collective nouns and plurals:
The police work hard (not works); but that policeman (not policemen) works (not work) hard.
The headquarters look (not looks) palatial.
Cattle give (not gives) bad odor, and a cow gives bad odor.
Aircraft make (not makes) traveling easier; but a specific aircraft (chopper/airbus/plane) makes traveling easier.
Conclusion: Some nouns that are collective in meaning can take plural verbs; others with non-collective usage may take singular verbs.
Rule 14: Pluralia tantums
Definition: Nouns that inherently occur in plural form but may govern a singular verb in certain contexts.
Example class (subjects that end with -s but do not imply plurality):
School subjects: Mathematics, Economics, Civics, Physics, Statistics, etc.
Note: Although these words end in -s, they do not express plurality in the same way as regular plural nouns.
Rule 15: Double title subject concord
Rule: When two subjects joined by "and" refer to a single person or thing, the verb remains singular.
Example:
"Our principal and mathematics teacher knows me." (they refer to one person: the principal who is also the mathematics teacher)
Note: The same logic applies when the composite subject represents one entity, not two distinct people.
Rule 16: Co-ordinate concord
Rule: When two subjects are joined by "and", the default verb form is plural.
Examples:
"James and John are (not is) here."
"Elizabeth and Johnson know (not knows) me."
Rule 17: Categorization concord
Rule: When a collective name denoting a category (not a concrete collective noun) is used, the verb should be plural.
Examples:
"The poor need help (not helps or needs) from the government."
"The young are (not is) disobedient."
"The weak are (not is) left to their fates."
Rule 18: Plural number concord
Rule: When an amount or unit is mentioned, e.g., five thousand, three hundred, percent, twenty meters, etc., the next verb must be singular.
Examples:
"Two pounds of flour is (not are) too few to bake a cake."
"Ten percent of my earnings goes (not go) to my wife."
Rule 19: Irregular plural nouns and pluralia tantums (continued notes from transcript)
The transcript includes examples of nouns ending with -s that may be plural or treated specially:
Examples of plural-form words that still take plural verbs when appropriate (e.g., games, diseases) but may appear with singular verbs in other contexts.
The transcript lists nouns that typically do not appear in singular forms but are plural in form (funds, annals, spirits, surroundings, guts, earnings, arms, auspices, the middle ages, entrails, bowels, quarters/headquarters, banns, means, holidays, stars, suds, wages, riches, writs, savings, remains, ashes, goods, arrears, outskirts, pains, particulars, fireworks, etc.).
Implication: Some nouns are inherently plural or treated as plural in usage, affecting verb agreement accordingly.
Examples from transcript:
"His manners are (not is) good."
"The remains (corpse) of the boy have (not has) been buried."
Rule 20: Every + plural number concord
Rule: When every precedes a plural, the next verb is plural.
Examples:
"Every ten liters of oil bought come (not comes) with a bonus of an extra liter."
When every appears without any plural number, the verb is singular:
"Every boy (not boys) likes girls."
"Every man (not men) likes football."
When and joins two or more subjects with every or each, the verb should be singular:
"Every man and woman speaks (not speak) good English here."
"Every student and teacher comes (not come) to school early."
Rule 21: Most or much concord
Rule: When using most, the verb form can be singular or plural, depending on whether the referent is countable or uncountable.
Note: The transcript does not provide explicit examples for every case here, but emphasizes dependence on countability.
Rule 22: All concord
Rule: All can mean either everything or all people; verb form depends on sense:
When all means everything, the verb is singular.
When all means all the people, the verb is plural.
Examples:
"All are already seated in the hall." (all people → plural)
"All is well with me." (all everything → singular)
Additional note: When used as "All but" John are (not is) on the bus, it means only John is absent; thus plural verb.
Rule 23: Either or neither concord
Rule: When either or neither joins two singular nouns, the verb should be singular.
Examples:
"Either John or Jackson knows (not know) me."
"Neither Mary nor her friend was (not were) here."
If one subject is singular and the other plural, the verb is determined by the nearer subject to the gap (the near subject governs agreement).
Note: The transcript provides guidance on ensuring the nearer subject dictates the form when mixed-number subjects are joined.
Rule 24: Each and one of concord
Rule: When each appears, use a singular noun with a singular verb.
Examples:
"Each boy (not boys) has a car."
When used as "each of" or "one of" (each of the candidates, one of the candidates), the next noun should be plural, but the verb should be singular:
"Each of the candidates (not candidate) stands (not stand) a good chance to win a scholarship."
Additional Reading and Closing notes
The session also references other grammar topics such as quotation marks, semicolons, comma splice rules, and common grammar mistakes.
Next Topic referenced: Noun and Pronoun.
The content is presented as a 24-rule framework for concord, with numerous examples illustrating when verbs should be singular or plural depending on subject type, placement, and special constructions.
Quick reference summary (memory aid)
Singular subject → singular verb; plural subject → plural verb (Rule 1).
Everybody/everyone: singular object; pronouns after these depend on number (Rule 2).
Mandative subjunctive after requests/recommendations often uses special forms (Rule 3).
Proximity drives agreement in lists connected by "or"/"nor" (Rule 4).
Use singular after "many a" (Rule 5) and after "a pair of" (Rule 6).
Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on action (Rule 7).
Ignore parenthetical phrases when choosing the verb (Rule 8).
Accompaniment phrases align with the head noun (Rule 9).
After "more than", the following element determines agreement (Rule 10).
Indefinite pronouns require singular verbs (Rule 11).
Relative clauses: agreement with antecedent (Rule 12).
Uncountables typically avoid -s; beware irregular plurals (Rule 13, 19).
Some pluralia tantums end in -s but govern singular verbs when treated as singular categories (Rule 14).
When two titles refer to one person, singular (Rule 15).
Two subjects joined by "and" normally require plural (Rule 16).
Category names (not physical groups) take plural (Rule 17).
Quantities/amounts with units often trigger singular (Rule 18).
Every + plural number uses plural; otherwise singular (Rule 20).
Most/much concord depends on countability (Rule 21).
All: meaning (everything vs all people) guides singular/plural (Rule 22).
Either/neither with near-subject rule (Rule 23).
Each/one of: singular with each; after "of" phrases, verb may require singular or plural depending on the noun (Rule 24).