English for Today CONCORD: Subject(noun)-Verb agreement.

Central to learning concord is the pluralisation system in English. Nouns are pluralised by adding -s or -es to the words: boy-boys, box-boxes. The reverse is the case with verbs. When a verb takes -s, it is singular and when it does not it is plural: sings-sing, dances- dance.

15 RULES OF CONCORD IN ENGLISH

1. A singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb:

The boys sing

The boy sings

Kunle and Bode are here

Kunle is here

2. PROXIMITY CONCORD: When 'either...or', 'neither...nor', 'not only...but also' are used in the subject position, the verb agrees with the nearer subject:

Either the boys or the girl is coming today Neither the teacher nor the students are interested in the excursion.

To be continued