What is Concord?

USE OF ENGLISH

CONCORD

It stands for agreement. In grammar, it is used to denote agreement in person, number or otherwise between the subject and other parts of the sentence.

Number here refers to whether the subject is singular or plural.

The rules that govern these relationships are referred to as RULES OF CONCORD.

RULES OF CONCORD

1. When the subject of a sentence is singular,the verb must also be in singular.

A. Eze *goes* to school.

B. The phone *is* faulty

2. *Plural subject* = Plural verb

A. The windows *are* made of woods

B. The little boys *sing* very well

3. *A + Number + of* = plural verb

A. A number of students *have*

Missed the opportunity to re-register

4. *The + Number +of* = Singular verb

A. The number of children going to school *is* decreasing.

5. *One of + Plural Noun* = Singular verb.

A. One of my friends *has* travelled

B. One of the vice presidents *acts* in an interim capacity.

6. *Each of / One of* *+* *Plural Noun + Relative Pronoun* = Plural Verb + ( Singular Verb ).

A. He is one of those who *teach* in my school.

B. Each of the players who *come* around *is* to be given a ball.

7. *It is high time / It is time* = Past tense.

A. It is high time we *went* home

B. It is time I *tackled* my problem.

EXCEPTION: Use present tense if the verb comes after " *TO* ".

A. It is time to *go*.

8. *How I wish / I wish* = Past tense.

A. I wish I *were* your age

9. But when *WISH* occurs within two clauses, it takes this format:

*Had + Past participle of the verb*

A. I wish I *had learnt* to swim when I was younger.

10. *Would Rather + Pronoun or any subject* = Past tense

A. I would rather you *cooked* the dinner now.

BUT

*Would Rather ---- Pronoun* = Present tense

A. I would rather *cook* the dinner now

12. Had better = present tense

A. You had better *start* reading for your exams.

13. *Many A / An + Singular Noun* = Singular Verb + antecedent singular pronoun.

Examples:

1. Many a good climber *has* met *his* death on this mountain.

2. Many a student *dislikes* examination.

14. *The + adjective ( as subject )* = plural verb.

Examples

The poor

The needy

The blind

The rich

The disabled

The handicapped

The less fortunate

The less privileged

The sick

The dead

The wealthy

The lame

The mean

The wicked

The unborn

The deaf

The living

The affluent etc

*NOTE*: They don't take the suffix *s*.

Examples:

1. The helpless *require* our sympathy.

2. The blind *are* always sensitive.

15. *The + police, cattle, clergy, vermin*= plural verb.

Examples :

1.The police *have* caught the armed robbers.

2. The vermin *are* hard to control.

16. *More than + singular noun* = singular verb.

Example :1. More than one bag of rice *has* been bought for the ceremony.

*BUT*

*More than +plural noun*= plural verb.

Example :

1. More than two bags of rice *have* been bought for the ceremony.

17. When the correlative conjunctions *Either ..... or / Neither..... nor* separates two subjects/nouns, the verb should agree with the second subject or the subject closer to it.

Examples :

1. Either the man or the children *are* wrong.

2. Neither John nor I *am* at fault in this matter.

3. Either Nelson or she *is* wrong .

18. When words or prepositional phrases such as *with, like, as well as, no less than, along with, besides, followed by, accompanied by, in addition to, together with, in conjunction with, in association with, in collaboration with* etc, separate two subjects, the verb should agree with the first subject.

Examples :

1. Juliet like her mother *is* pretty.

2. The judge with his son *is* traveling to Lagos now.

3. Coaches as well as players *need* reorientation.

4. John as well as his friends *likes* playing football.

20. When a *fraction, percentage, half of or part of* is used, the subject it refers determines the verb to be used.

Three quarters 7

Two _ third

One _ fifth

Percent

Half of

Part of

*Note*= If a percentage is used with an uncountable or a singular noun, the verb is generally singular.

Examples :

1. Ninety percent of the land *is* cultivated.

2. Sixty -- five percent of the children *play* computer games

3. Three -- quarters of the people in the village *were* killed but only half of their huts *were* affected.

20. When two nouns designate joined by *and* represent one person, the verb should be singular.

Examples

1. Our principal and chairman of the occasion *has* just arrived.

2. My friend and mentor *is* here.

21. When two subjects joined by *and* form a unit, the verb should be singular.

Examples

1. Rice and beans *is* very delicious.

2. Bribery and corruption *goes* together.

22. Collective noun --- Performing action --- Plural --- Plural antecedent pronoun.

Example

1. The committee *are* fighting over *their* allowance.

23. Collective noun --- No action --- Singular verb --- Singular antecedent pronoun.

Example

1. The committee *is* sitting tomorrow.

24. When *None of* precedes the second person pronoun *You* , the verb should be plural.

Example

1. None of you *are* righteous.

2. None of you *are* to attend to the man.

*NOTE* : But when *none of* recedes either a plural noun or pronoun, the verb should be singular.

Examples

1. None of the boys *is* here

2. None of them *was* here

3. None of them *has* a gun to shoot the crocodile.

25. When *You* transfers its subject head to another noun or pronoun, the noun or pronoun takes the verb ( no longer *You* )

Example

1. You are the man that *is* being sought.

26. When time such as seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades and centuries are used, they take singular verb.

Examples

1. Four weeks *is* enough for the police to conclude their investigation

27. Singular nouns that go with *'s'* such as *rickets, politics, measles, mumps, economics, semantics, statistics, physics, mathematics, AIDS, billiards, draughts, tactics, darts, bowls, ceramics, geophysics, gymnastics, news, phonetics etc*

*Note*: There are some proper nouns in this group. They are usually names of *countries, cities and some organizations*. Eg Wales, Algiers, United States, Athens, Lagos, United Nations, Paris etc should always be used with singular verbs.

Examples

1. Measles *is* no longer impossible to manage these days.

2. Rickets *has* killed a lot of children.

3. Algiers *is* the capital of Algeria

4. Draughts *is* a game of great intelligence

5. The news *is* disheartening.

28. Titles of books that end in *'s'* or that have coordinate conjunction *'and'* should be used with singular verbs.

Examples

1. A tale of Two Cities *is* the novel we are studying for the examination.

2. Women of Owu *is* famous book.

29. When words such as *pounds, dollars, shillings, kilometers, yards, metres, kilogrammes, miles* are used, they take singular verbs.

Example

1. Fifty million dollars *has* been put aside for the campaign.

2. The hundred metres race *was* won by a girl in blue.

30. After collocational words like *a group of, a gang of, a bevy of, a gaggle of, a cluster of, a panel of, a range of* etc use a singular verb .

Example

1. A range of options *was* made available to the political parties during the recently concluded elections.

2. A gang of thieves *was* seen breaking into the house.

31. Wish + Subject = plural verb

Example

1. I wish he *were* here .

32. Recommend + Subject = Plural verb

Example

1. I recommend John *leave* the house.

33. Pray + Subject = Plural verb.

Example

1. We pray Ade *pass* the examination.

34. Demand + Subject = Plural.

Example.

The Principal demands the boy *leave* the school.

35. Suggest + Subject = Plural verb

Example.

1. The boys suggest their father *buy* the car.

36. When *SOME* refers to a plural count noun, it takes a plural verb.

Example

1. Some of the boys *were* rusticated by the authorities.

*Note* : When *SOME* refers to a non-count / mass noun, it takes a singular verb.

Example

1. Some of the food *is* spoilt.

*SIR GHAFFSON*

*INTRODUCTION TO STRESS.*

Stress is the emphasis placed on one-syllable words or part of two or more syllable words.

*INDICATORS OF STRESS.*

1). In addition,super script {'} and subscript {,} are used e.g In lawyer,we have layer.

2). In examinations, capital letter and small letters are used e.g In 'lawyer',we have LAWyer.

*CATEGORIES OF WORDS.*

1). *Monosyllabic words*:These are words with ONLY ONE SYLLABLE (Note: A syllable is a word or a part of a word which can be pronounced with one breath) OR It is a unit of pronunciation e.g fan,show,come,goat.

2). *Bi-syllabic words*: These are words with two syllables e g tea-cher,sha-ll

ow,pau-per,rea-son.

3). *Poly-syllabic words*: These are words with three or more syllables w.g in-di-ca-tor,fa-ci-li-tate,cham-pion-ship.

*TYPE OF STRESS.*

1). Word stress or syllable stress.

2). Emphatic stress.

3). Contrasitive stress.

4). Sentence stress.

*STRESS ON BI-SYLLABIC WORDS.*

*THE HINTS*

*Hint 1*: Generally, bi-syllabic words have their stress on the 1st syllable

E.g champion-- CHAM-pion

sister-- SIS-ter

father--. FA-ther

author--. AU-thor

mother--. MO-ther

*Hint 2*: If the bi-syllabic words are prefixed, stress the 2nd syllable.

E.g unknown--. un-KNOWN

beside--. be-SIDE

rely--. re-LY

above--. a-BOVE

decide-- de-CIDE

*Hint 3*:If the bi-syllabic words are words that end in TEEN, stress"TEEN"- the 2nd syllable.

E.g. thirteen--. thir-TEEN

firteen--. fif-TEEN

nineteen--. nine-TEEN

*Hint 4*: If the bi-syllabic words are words that end in 'TY',stress the 1st syllable.

E.g. twenty--. TWEN-ty

thirty--. THIR-ty

ninety--. NINE-ty

*Hint 5*: If the bi-syllabic words are both Nouns and Verbs, stress the first syllable as Nouns and second as Verbs.

E.g:

NOUNS. VERBS.

1. SUB-ject sub-JECT

2. OB-ject ob-JECT

3. IN-crease. in-CREASE

4. DE-crease. de-CREASE

5. IM-port. im-PORT

6. EX-port. ex-PORT

7. RE-cord. re-CORD

8. RE-bel. re-BEL

9. SUR-vey. sur-VEY

10. PRE-sent. pre-SENT

11. ES-cort. esCORT

12. PRO-gress. pro-GRESS

13. PRO-duce. pro-DUCE

14. PRO-ceed. pro-CEED

15. PRO-ject. pro-JECT

16. PRO-cess. pro-CESS

17. IN-sult. in-SULT

18. EX-ploits. ex-PLOITS

*STRESS ON POLY-SYLLABIC WORDS.*

*Hint 1*: Stress the second syllable from the end if the word ends in 'ION'.

E.g:

a. communication: co-mmu-ni-CA-tion

b. regulation: re-gu-LA- tion

c. organization: or-ga-ni-ZA-tion

d. administration: ad-mi-ni-STRA-tion

e. consideration: con-si-de-RA-tion

f. medication: me-di-CA-tion

g. population: po-pu-LA-tion

*Hint 2*: Stress the second form the end if the word ends in 'IC' or 'ICS'.

E.g:

a. democratic: de-mo-CRA-tic

b. idiomatic: i-dio-MA-tic

c. mathematics: ma-the-MA-tics

d. optimistic: op-ti-MIS-tic

e. economic: e-co-NO-mic

f. catastrophic: ca-tas-TRO-phic

g. inorganic: in-or-GA-nic

*Hint 3*. Stress the 2nd syllable from the end if the word ends in 'IAN','IAL','AL

','IEN','IOUS','ITIVE','ITUDE' etc.

E.g:

a. civilian: ci-VI-lian

b. beneficial: be-ne-FI-cial

c. sufficient: su-FFI-cient

d. contentious: con-TEN-tious

e. righteous: RIGH-teous

f. unusual: un-U-sual

g. continuous: con-TI-nuous

h. musician: mu-SI-cian

I. Colonial: co-LO-nial

j. perennial: pe-RE-nnial

k. beneficient: be-ne-FI-cient

*Hint 4*: Stress the 3rd syllable from the end if the word ends in 'ATE'.

E.g:

a. congratulate: con-GRA-tu-late

b. postulate: POS-tu-late

c. abominate: a-BO-mi-nate

d. amalgamate: a-MAL-ga-mate

e. regulate: RE-gu-late

f. populate: PO-pu-late

g. adjudicate: ad-JU-di-cate

h. indicate: IN-di-cate

I. motivate: MO-ti-vate

j. capitulate: ca-PI-tu-late

k. reciprocate: re-CI-pro-cate

l. recuperate: re-CU-pe-rate

m. consulate: CON-su-late

*Hint 5*: Stress the 3ed syllable from the end if the word ends in 'ICAL',

E.g

a. mechanical: mech-A-ni-cal

b. technical: TECH-ni-cal

c. physical: PHY-si-cal

d. reciprocal: re-CI-pro-cal

e. geometrical: ge-o-ME-tri-cal

Exercise;

Photigraphical.geographical,political, financial, historical, identical,ecological.

*Hint 6*: Stress the 3rd syllable fronlm the end if the word ends in 'ITY','FY'

E.g

a. productivity: pro-duc-TI-vi-ty

b. personality: per-so-NA-li-ty

c. electrify: e-LEC-tri-fy

d. qualify: QUA-li-fy

e. neutrality: neu-TRA-li-ty

Exercise;

Credibility, durability, objectivity, responsibility,terrify,glorify,stupefy.

*Hint 7*: Stress the 3rd syllable from the end if the word ends in 'IZE' or 'ISE'.

E.g

a. monopolise: mo-NO-po-lize

b. jeopardise: JEO-par-dise

c. subsidise: SUB-si-dise

d. economize: e-CO-no-mize

EXCEPTIONS:

a. re-gu-LA- I've

b. CHA-rac-ta-rize

c. HOS-pi-ta-lize

*Hint 8*: Stress the 4th syllable from the end if the word ends in 'IST','ISM','LY

','ABLE'.

E.g

a. intellectualism: in-te-LLEC-tua-li-sm

b. agriculturalist: a-gri-CUL-tu-ra-list

c. internationally: in- ter-NA-tio-nal-ly

d. ineligible: in-E- li-gi-ble

e. indefatigable: in-de-FA-ti-ga-ble

EXCEPTIONS;

a. in-com-PA-ti-ble

b. im-PO-ssi-ble

c. im-PAL-pa-ble

d. in-cor-RUP-ti-ble

e. in-AD-mi-si-ble

*Hint 9*: stress the first syllable from the end if the word ends in 'EE'.

E.g

a. nominee: no-mi-NEE

b. employee: em-plo-YEE

c. detainee: de-tai-NEE

d. absentee: ab-sen-TEE

e. reportee: re-por-TEE

f. consignee: con-sig-NEE