Tips for BECE English
In English, one of the commonest errors people commit, whether in examinations or speech, is not making the subject of the sentences they write or speak agree with the appropriate verbs.
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Note that the subject of a sentence is the thing, place, idea, person, etc that the sentence talks about and this must agree with the verb in the sentence if the sentence is in the present tense.
If a verb is in the past tense, it does not go through this subject-verb agreement because a past tense verb will agree with a subject, no matter its number or person.
The only verbs in the past tense which go through this subject-verb agreement are was and were.
This subject-verb agreement (also called CONCORD) operates in terms of the NUMBER (singular or plural) and the PERSON (1st, 2nd and 3rd) of the subject.
Now, as a general principle, singular subjects (that is, subjects that are one or less than one, including nought) must agree with singular verbs, while plural subjects (that is, subjects that are more than one) must agree with plural verbs.
Again, the first person pronoun I and the second person YOU agree with plural verbs, while the third person HE/SHE/IT agrees with a singular verb.
Examples:
A man comes here every day.
A man and his son come here every day.
The child was sorry for his actions.
Children were seen crossing the road.
I dress well every day.
You dress well every day.
She dresses well every day.
But sometimes we are faced with tricky situations in examinations when we have to determine whether the subject of a sentence is singular or plural, whether a pronoun is a subject or not, etc.
This usually occurs with the use of either … or and neither … nor.
Note that when we use either … or, we mention two items or persons but mean only one of the them.
Therefore, when both items mentioned are singular, we use a singular verb.
Examples:
Either my brother or his friend is at home.
Either the boy or the girl knows the answer.
When the items mentioned are both plural, we use a plural verb.
Examples:
Either the teachers or the students know the answer.
Either my friends or my siblings are wrong.
When one of the items is singular and the other plural, the verb we choose is determined by the item closer to the verb. This is called PROXIMITY CONCORD.
Examples:
Either the boys or the girl has arrived.
Either the girl or the boys have arrived.
Now, when pronouns are used with either … or, we apply this same principle when different persons are used.
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Examples:
Either he or you are wrong.
Either you or I am wrong.
Either you or I know the owner of the car.
Either the man or she deserves praise.
Either Kofi or I am lying.
Note that the same applies to the use of neither … nor, which means neither of the two items mentioned.
When the two items are both singular, we use a singular verb; when they are both plural, we use a plural verb, but when one is singular and the other plural, we apply the principle of proximity concord.
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Examples:
Neither the boy nor his parents are at home.
Neither the girls nor their brother has a car.
Neither the man nor you are late.
Neither he nor I am late.
Select the correct alternative
1) Rice from China and Vietnam ..... cheap. a) sell b) sells c) selled d) selling
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2) ...... she come, ask her to wait for me. a) If b) When c) In case d) Should
3) Either he or I ..... not serious with he work. a) are b) is c) am d) has
4) Each of the 40 students ..... sent home. a) were b) was c) has d) have.
5) The history of many countries ..... in obscurity. a) begin b) begins c) beginning d) begun
6) Neither he nor you ..... peace to prevail. a) want b) wants c) wanting d) is waiting
7) The sharpening of clipper blades ..... done here. a) are b) am c) have d) is
8) Neither the boys nor I .... the work. a) does b) do c) doing d) are doing
9) Kofi is one of the boys who ..... dismissed. a) have b) was c) has d) were
10) One of the new students ..... fainted. a) have b) has c) are d) were.