Subject-Verb Agreement: Collective Nouns and Indefinite Pronouns

Subject-Verb Agreement
Collective Nouns, Indefinite Pronouns, and Words That Express and Amount

I can write sentences containing collective nouns and use the correct verb forms.
I can write sentences containing indefinite pronouns and use the correct verb forms.
I can write sentences containing words that express an amount and use the correct verb forms.




You will need your grammar book.

Poll

Select the option that you agree with the most.

• I do not know what a collective noun is.

• I think I know what a collective noun is.

• I know what a collective noun is.

• I know what a collective noun is and I can provide an example.

Poll

Select the option that you agree with the most.

• I do not know what an indefinite pronoun is.

• I think I know what an indefinite pronoun is.

• I know what an indefinite pronoun is.

• I know what an indefinite pronoun is and I can provide an example.

Collective Nouns

What is a collective noun?

A collective noun is a word that names a group.

Committee and family are collective nouns.

Word Cloud

Can you think of a collective noun?

Singular or Plural?
Collective nouns take the singular verb when it refers to the group as a single unit.
Collective nouns take the plural verb when it refers to the group's individual members.

The family have arrived to the reunion in small groups.

The individual members of the family arrived.

Plural

The committee has made its decision.

The committee as one unit has decided.

Singular

Poll

How confident do you feel about correctly matching verbs with collective nouns?

• 1. Not confident at all

• 2. Somewhat confident

• 3. Mostly confident

• 4.Very Confident

Indefinite Pronouns

What is an indefinite pronoun?

An indefinite pronouns is a pronoun that does not refer to a specific person, place, thing, or idea.

Someone, everybody, and anywhere are indefinite pronouns.

Word Cloud

Can you think of an indefinite pronoun?

Singular or Plural?
Some indefinite pronouns are always singular or always plural.

Both of the girls are here.
Few of the rooms are open.

Other examples:

Plural

• Both

• Few

• Many

• Several

Singular

Neither of us is late.
Has either of them arrived?

Other examples:

• Anybody

• Everyone

• Either

• No one

• Somebody

Singular or Plural?
The indefinite pronouns all, any, most, and some, can be singular or plural.
Use the object of the preposition following the pronoun to determine if it is

Some of my friends are here.


Some refers to the plural word friends.

Plural

Singular

Some of the music seems too loud.

Some refers to the singular word music.

Poll

How confident do you feel about correctly matching verbs with indefinite pronouns?

• 1. Not confident at all

• 2. Somewhat confident

• 3. Mostly confident

• 4.Very Confident

Words and phrases that express an amount can be singular or plural.
They are singular when they refer to a single unit.
They are plural when they refer to a number as individual units.

My four dollars are in the box.

Individual units

Plural

Singular

Four dollars is the cost.

Single unit

Poll

How confident do you feel about correctly matching verbs with words or phrases that express an amount?

• 1. Not confident at all

• 2. Somewhat confident

• 3. Mostly confident

• 4.Very Confident