In this video, we will learn more about the use of singular and plural in academic writing.
The choice of singular or plural can be confusing in various situations.
There are five areas of difficulty, namely subject-verb agreement,
uncountable nouns and irregular plurals, general statements,
each and every, and linked nouns.
This module focuses on situations when it is difficult to recognize the subject in a sentence.
Subject-verb agreement means that the main verb of the sentence matches the subject,
which means that both are singular or plural.
Here comes the question.
How can we identify the subject in a sentence and select the correct verb form accordingly?
Let's look at some examples together.
Look at the sentence on the screen.
Is it correct or wrong?
It is incorrect because of subject-verb agreement. See the highlighted parts.
Here is the corrected version.
The subject purpose, as with the singular verb form, was.
Let's give it another try.
Look at the sentence on the screen. Is it correct or wrong?
It is incorrect because of subject-verb agreement. See the highlighted parts.
Here is the corrected version.
The subject usage matches with the singular verb form has.
Have you got them right?
Check out the countable and uncountable nouns module if you want to learn more.
And now, let's practice what we have learned.