Grammar-Quizzes.com

Agr-Diagnostic

Agreement Diagnostic Quiz: a tool to help you identify specific points that need review

• Quiz 1: beginning – intermediate
• Quiz 2: intermediate – advanced 

Reg Plural Nouns

Regular Plural Nouns: plural noun markers ending in -S

Plural noun markers:

• after s: -es
• after o:  -os, oes
• after y or f:  -ys, -ies -fs, -ves

 Audio page:  finalS-audio

Two apples were swinging on a high branch.
Two tomatoes were on the plant.
Two leaves were on the ground.
Two roofs blew away.

Irreg Plural Nouns

Irregular Plural Nouns: plural noun markers with other endings

Plural noun markers:

• with mid-vowel changes: ee, i
• no change: fish deer, etc.
• of foreign origin: en, i, es, as, a
• referring to varieties in the plural form

Two cacti were along side of the highway.
Two deer stood by the road.
Two indices were incomplete.
Two formulas were used.
The data  were received.

All the fishes in the sea ...

Irreg Plural Prac

Irregular Plural Suffixes

• -s / -es
• -os / -oes
• en
• fs / ves

One auto is on top of the other auto.  The _____ are very different in size.

Irreg Agreement

Irregular Agreement: recognizing unusual singular or plural forms

Irregular noun agreement

• singular nouns with plural verbs  (Police are)
• plural nouns with singular verbs (The World Series is)
• gerund / activities (Swimming is)
• languages (English is)
• people  (The English are)

A goat is walking on the road.

Two goats are walking on the road.

A sheep is walking on the road.

Two sheep are walking on the road.  (also: fish, deer)

3rd Person Agrmnt

3rd Person Agreement: checking verbs for agreement

• third-person spelling patterns
• irregular forms: -es, -ies
• checking verbs for agreement: third-person, final -s

Simon (eat) ____ breakfast at 6 a.m. everyday.

He (pass)  ____ the doughnut shop on the way...

Final -S Prac

Final -S Practice: editing nouns and verbs for final -S / -ES

• nouns
• 3rd person verbs

  Audio Practice for final -S

Tom (work) ___ at a grocery store.

Everyday, ...

Count / Noncount

Count/ Noncount: referring to mass nouns or units

mass, collective, group nouns

• count nouns: singular or plural
• noncount nouns (list): only singular
• fruit vs. fruit (dialectal variation)
• practice distinguishing count from noncount nouns

My hair is clean.

Some blonde hairs are on your jacket.

Group Nouns

Group Nouns: referring to items collectively

• count
• noncount  (group/ mass)

She had a computer, printer, fax and scanner.
She had a lot of equipment.

Cnt/Ncnt Prac 1

Count-Noncount Noun Practice: sentences

• singular / plural
• count / noncount

I have two (ring) ____ . 

Cnt/Ncnt Prac 2

Count-Noncount Noun Practice: paragraph

• singular
• plural

I am taking an online class this semester to improve my English (skill) ____.

Quantity Phrases

Quantity Phrases: indicating how much or how many

Does the verb agree with the quantifier of phrase or the closest noun in phrase?

• some
• several
• too much
• too few
• a lot of
• a lot of /  a quantity of / a couple of
• a number of  vs. the number of 
   

Each of the kids knows the answer.
Most of the kids know the answer.
Most of the class knows the answer.

A number of kids know the answer.
The number of kids is ten.

Some / Any

Some / Any: referring to an indefinite quantity or number

• no article / some
• some / any
• expressions of doubt
• compound words
• subtle meanings

I'd like some tea.
I didn't get any tea.

Would you like some / any tea?

I doubt that there are any oranges here.
Not one of the shops has any tea.
I don't think that any oranges are left.

Much / Many

Much/ Many: indicating quantity for count and noncount nouns

• questions or negative sentences
• affirmative sentences (usually scientific or scholarly contexts)
• so much / so many
• much more / many more
• so much… that / som many…that

Not many good snacks are in the refrigerator.
Not much junk food is in the refrigerator.

Are there many good snacks in the refrigerator?
Is there much junk food in the refrigerator?

There are many good snacks in the refrigerator. (ok)
There is much food in the refrigerator. (awkward)

Little / Few

Little / Few: indicating insufficient quantity for count and noncount nouns

• little/few vs. a little/a few
• few vs. a few
• little vs. a little

Few people can give to food programs this year.
A few people will work with food programs.

Little water is in my glass. (not much)
A little water is in my glass.  (enough)

Food Quantifiers

Food Quantifiers: referring to specific amounts

• a glass, a carton, a bottle, a gallon
• a grain, a bowl, a sack, a box
• a loaf, a slice, a piece
• a steak, a chop, a roast, a fillet

Animal source: meat name: meat cuts

• sheep – lamb - chops
• steer – beef - steak
• pig– pork - ham

Some milk is in the refrigerator.

Four glasses of milk are on the table.

A butcher shop sells (beef, steak) _____.

I'd like to buy  a  (beef, steak)  ______

Complex Agrmnt

Complex Agreement: agreement in sentences with clauses and phrases

• identifying the modifying clause or phrase
• maintaining agreement between subject and verb in the main clause

At least three quarters of the monkeys – in the zoo – suffer from nutritional deficiencies.

The monkey  – under the bananas – is hiding.
The monkeys  – under the bananas – are hiding.

There Agreement

There Agreement: using singular-plural agreement with there

• closest noun
• multiple nouns
• "inseparable pairs"  (salt and pepper)

There is milk, cheese and eggs on the table.

(British - There are milk, cheese and eggs on the table.)

Pronouns

Pronouns: using a pronoun to refer to a noun

• subject pronouns
• object pronouns
• possessive pronouns
• compound object pronouns

Possess Pronouns practice
Possessive Nouns practice

Lea is dancing.   She enjoys dancing.
Sammy is dancing with  Lea.   He likes her.

She gave a demonstration to my friend and me.
She gave a demonstration to my friend and  I .

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns: sentence agreement

• singular: every, each, one of, each of
• plural: all of, some of, half of, 10 per cent of

Everyone had his fishing pole.
Some had their fishing poles.
Everyone had their fishing pole. (informal usage)

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns: referring to oneself; referring to all or part

• myself / yourself
• himself / herself 
• itself / oneself
• ourselves
• themselves
• yourselves

I washed myself.

I dressed myself.

I brushed my teeth.
I shampooed my hair.

Possessive Nouns

Possessive Pronouns:  indicating possession for people or groups

• pronouns
• indefinite pronouns
• everyone – his / her
• no one – his
• one / you/ they – impersonal pronoun possessives

Our dog is over here. / Ours is over here.   (our dog)

All of the owners bring water for their (own) dogs.

One  should exercise one's dog. (impersonal)
You should exercise your dog. (impersonal)
They don't like dogs there. Their dislike is unusual. (impersonal)

Possess Pronouns

Possessive Pronouns: indicating ownership

The state's soccer team won several games.
The states' soccer teams won several games.

Common Mistakes

Common Mistakes: top 20 agreement errors

• subject - verb
• pronouns
• indefinite pronouns - verb

Fashions come and go. Everyone have problems balancing comfort with fashion.

Gender Agrmnt

Gender Neutral Agreement: using pronouns that include both males and females

Using

• "gender neutral" pronouns
• his / her  / their

Everyone in my family has several pictures of their children. (males, females, both?)

Final -S audio

Sentence Agreement with final -S (audio): listening for final "s"

ropes  [s]

robes  [z]

Sentence Edit

Sentence Edit: editing for articles, pronouns and singular-plural agreement

How good are you at finding errors in sentences?

• articles
• pronouns
• subject-verb agreement

When my mother was child, she lived in small town.

Paragraph Edit

Paragraph Editing: using agreement within an essay

• read essay
• review and edit incorrect sentence agreement

My family enjoy scuba-diving, so nearly every school vacation, we go on a diving trip.

Agr in Context

Agreement in Context: Identifying subject-verb agreement

Recognizing subject verb agreement in context.

Thirty million barrels of oil is "a drop in the bucket" compared to U.S. demand.

Ch 6-8 Agreement

Chapter Review: singular – plural agreement

Azar - Chapters 6, 7, 8  box-by-box review

If one of the (baby) _____  (cry) _____  call one of the (nurse)___.