English Language Arts
Grade 11
15 min
Pronoun-verb agreement
Pronoun-verb agreement
Tutorial Preview
1
Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify restrictive and nonrestrictive elements within complex sentences from American literary texts.
Differentiate between essential (restrictive) and non-essential (nonrestrictive) information to determine correct punctuation.
Ensure a verb agrees with its pronoun antecedent by correctly ignoring intervening nonrestrictive phrases.
Trace a relative pronoun (who, which, that) to its correct antecedent to determine verb number.
Analyze how authors use restrictive and nonrestrictive elements to control meaning and rhythm in their prose.
Apply pronoun-verb agreement rules involving these elements to enhance clarity and precision in their own analytical and synthesis essays.
Ever notice how a pair of commas can act like a whisper, adding a secret detail to...
2
Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
Pronoun AntecedentThe noun or noun phrase to which a pronoun refers. The pronoun must agree in number and gender with its antecedent.In 'The author, who wrote many novels, received an award,' the antecedent of 'who' is 'author'.
Pronoun-Verb AgreementA pronoun used as a subject must agree in number (singular or plural) with its verb.He writes. (singular) vs. They write. (plural)
Restrictive ElementA phrase or clause containing information that is essential to identify the noun it modifies. It is NOT set off by commas.The character who challenges the system is the protagonist. (The clause specifies WHICH character.)
Nonrestrictive ElementA phrase or clause that provides additional, non-essential information. It is always set off from the...
3
Key Rules & Conventions
The Nonrestrictive 'Ignore' Rule
A verb must agree with its subject/antecedent, not with any noun inside an intervening nonrestrictive element.
To check for correct agreement, mentally cross out the nonrestrictive element (the part between the commas, parentheses, or dashes). The remaining sentence should be grammatically correct on its own.
The Restrictive 'Focus' Rule
The verb within a restrictive clause must agree with the pronoun's antecedent, which the clause itself helps to define.
When you see a relative pronoun like 'who' or 'that' introducing a restrictive clause, trace it back to the noun it modifies. That noun determines whether the verb in the clause is singular or plural.
The 'One of Those Who' Formula...
5 more steps in this tutorial
Sign up free to access the complete tutorial with worked examples and practice.
Sign Up Free to ContinueSample Practice Questions
Challenging
In an AP-style synthesis essay, which revision most precisely clarifies that a specific, limited set of new laws is being discussed? Original: 'The new laws, which address environmental concerns, face opposition.'
A.The new laws, which are addressing environmental concerns, face opposition.
B.The new laws that address environmental concerns face opposition.
C.Facing opposition, the new laws address environmental concerns.
D.The new laws, facing opposition, address environmental concerns.
Challenging
Analyze the following complex sentence for all agreement rules: 'Hawthorne is the only one of the American Romantic authors who, in exploring the dark side of human nature, truly (capture/captures) the Puritan legacy.' Which verb is correct and why?
A.capture, because the antecedent of 'who' is the plural 'authors'.
B.captures, because the intervening nonrestrictive phrase 'in exploring...' makes the subject singular.
C.capture, because the nonrestrictive phrase must be ignored, leaving 'authors' as the antecedent.
D.captures, because the phrase 'the only one' makes the singular 'one' the antecedent of 'who', regardless of intervening phrases.
Challenging
A student argues that in the sentence, 'The characters' motivations, which is a central mystery, are revealed slowly,' the verb 'is' is correct because 'central mystery' is singular. Why is this reasoning flawed?
A.The reasoning is not flawed; 'is' correctly agrees with the predicate nominative 'mystery'.
B.The verb in a relative clause must agree with the pronoun's antecedent ('motivations'), not with a noun that follows the verb.
C.The entire nonrestrictive clause should be removed, so the verb's correctness is irrelevant.
D.The pronoun 'which' should be 'that' because the information is essential.
Want to practice and check your answers?
Sign up to access all questions with instant feedback, explanations, and progress tracking.
Start Practicing Free