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The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Category: Subject and Verb Agreement

What Is Subject-Verb Concord?

Posted on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, at 6:00 am

Subjects and verbs are the principal components of language. Before we can provide descriptive or informative details in a sentence, we must know the actor and the action. Subjects and verbs are so fundamental to communication in English that they can form complete thoughts alone. Examples Jon runs. You walk. Jennifer jogs. English subjects and …

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What Are Simple Subjects?

Posted on Monday, June 27, 2022, at 6:00 am

One interesting thing about grammar is that we may often use it correctly without even realizing how or why. In other words, we might know the best way to apply a word or a phrase even if we can't explain it. As natural to us as the air that we breathe, simple subjects appear in …

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None Is vs. None Are: Which Do You Use?

Posted on Monday, June 28, 2021, at 6:00 am

Even among those who pay attention to grammar, the none is versus none are debate can be a spirited one. Do you know which one is correct? We don't want you to get it wrong or to follow misguided advice. That's why we are going to clear things up in today's post. As a starting …

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Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood?

Posted on Monday, April 19, 2021, at 6:00 am

A GrammarBook reader came across this sentence: If I were very lucky, I would get the chance to go. She asked, "Shouldn't I be followed by was, not were, since I is singular?" This is type of question is common within English grammar, particularly because it walks the line between the conditional tense and the subjunctive mood when a dependent if clause is …

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Is None Plural or Singular?

Posted on Friday, February 26, 2021, at 9:00 am

If you have friends and family members with an interest in grammar, asking whether the word none is singular or plural is a good way to start a spirited discussion (and if you have this kind of social circle, we would enjoy knowing how the discussion concluded, but we digress). For many, the presumed wisdom …

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We the People, or…?

Posted on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at 7:00 am

For much of the last two months, we have been analyzing why the subject pronouns I, he, she, we, they and the object pronouns me, him, her, us, them are chronically misused and confused. In this final installment, we'll deal with flawed sentences like Politicians should respect we the people and It's a happy outcome …

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The Subjunctive Mood

Posted on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, at 7:00 am

An e-newsletter fan came across this sentence: If I were very lucky, I would get the chance to go. She asked, “Shouldn’t I be followed by was, not were, since I is singular?” Let us answer that by asking you a question: Are you old enough to remember the ad jingle that began, “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener …”? …

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American vs. British English: Grammar

Posted on Tuesday, June 9, 2020, at 11:00 pm

We hope you’re enjoying our exploration of American and British English as much as we are. So far we've considered variations in spelling and vocabulary between the dialects. Our review continues with a closer look at American and Commonwealth grammar. Prepositions Different phrasing involving prepositions between American and British English may not be as pronounced …

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Sweating the Small Stuff

Posted on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, at 7:00 am

At a football game a few years ago, the University of Notre Dame sold soda in cups that said, "Figthing Irish." Did no one at this distinguished school have the time or pride to proofread a two-word slogan? Here are a few other items we've seen and now wish we hadn't … Back to Basics  …

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2019’s Word of the Year is Inclusive, Not Divisive

Posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, at 11:00 pm

Have you heard that Merriam-Webster chose the word they as the "Word of the Year"? And that it was chosen as the "Word of the Decade" by the American Dialect Society? We are not surprised. You probably recall that we ran three articles in July-August 2019 discussing the singular they (How Did They Get in …

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