​In the song Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury croons about a desire to find "somebody to love." Because SOMEBODY is one of the INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, this spoonful is dedicated to Freddie's memory!

INDEFINITE PRONOUNS are members of the pronoun family and can also act as SUBJECTS. But determining which are SINGULAR and which are PLURAL can stump the most seasoned grammarian. To help clear the confusion, here's a handy-dandy list:
 
ALWAYS SINGULAR
each, one, either, neither, another, little, much, anyone, anything, anybody, someone, something, somebody, everyone, everything, everybody, nothing, no one, nobody 

Words starting with EVERY refer to multiple people or things, but are always matched with singular verbs. Here are two examples: "Everyone is invited" and "Everything is packed up." 

ALWAYS PLURAL
few, many, both, others, several

SINGULAR OR PLURAL (depending on usage) 
all, any, enough, more, most, some, who, half, none

In my next post, I'll provide examples from each grouping. Stay tuned!

Sincerely,
Laura Fineberg Cooper

www.laurafcooper.com
​@spoonfulgrammar

IT'S A MATCH!

Subjects and verbs of the world unite!

In each sentence, SUBJECTS are bold and matching VERBS are red. 



​
SINGULAR 

• Honey is excited to see me, whether I'm gone for minutes or hours. 
• Either Honey or Daisy is sure to grab that Frisbee. 
• Honey nor Daisy was responsible for the ruined lawn. 
• The other dogs or Honey walks to Berry Pond every day. 
• Memorial Hall Library in Andover is my second home. 
• The table shakes whenever the door opens. 
• I am a huge dog lover, as if you couldn't tell. 
• The topic of these books is French cooking. (These books aren't random - they share the same topic! That's why topic is the subject, not books.)  

PLURAL  

• The other dogs run loose, but mine rarely does. 
• Multiple libraries across Massachusetts combine into a consortium.
• Hummingbirds are my favorite type of birds. 
• They promise to bring pizza to the track meet. 
• Honey and Daisy were born just a few months apart. 
• Honey or the other dogs walk to Berry Pond every day.  
• After the enjoyable trip to Acapulco, the Coopers and Michael pledge to travel together every year. (When a sentence starts with an introductory phrase, the subject should appear right after the comma!)

SPECIAL NOTE: Subject-verb mis-matches are commonly found in the SAT Writing section!!

​Thanks for reading this spoonful. Until next time...

Sincerely,
Laura Fineberg Cooper 

laurafcooper.com
@spoonfulgrammar

SUBJECT has many definitions. Here are just two: 

• Course of study(noun):
  English is a SUBJECT you're required to take in school.​
  
  
• Forced to endure (verb): 
  Pray you'll never be SUBJECTED to a 5-hour lecture on the sleeping habits of fire ants.

In grammar, SUBJECT refers to the main topic or focus of every sentence. Its most important role is to instruct the VERB. If the SUBJECT is SINGULAR, the VERB must be SINGULAR. If the SUBJECT is PLURAL, the VERB must be PLURAL. This relationship is known as SUBJECT-VERB MATCHING. Sounds easy peasy? It's not, especially as sentences become increasingly complex. But don't fret: I'll cover this SUBJECT one spoonful at a time. 

In order to properly match SUBJECTS and VERBS, the first step is to determine whether the SUBJECT is SINGULAR or PLURAL.  
  
 SINGULAR SUBJECTS with explanations:

• Honey - Honey is my sweet, beautiful, affectionate dog. Not that I'm biased or anything!
• Honey or Daisy - one or the other, but not both (Either/Or)
• Honey nor Daisy - not one or the other (Neither/Nor)
• the other dogs or Honey - With OR, if the 2nd noun is singular, the subject is singular. 
• Memorial Hall Library - my second home
• table - one table
• I, you, he, she, it - popular singular subject pronouns

PLURAL SUBJECTS with explanations:

• the other dogs - two or more dogs
• libraries - two or more libraries, possibly a consortium
• birds - more than one bird, possibly a flock
• We, they - popular plural subject pronouns
• Honey and Daisy - When AND connects two or more subjects, assume the subject is plural.
• Honey or the other dogs - Since "the other dogs" is plural and listed second, the subject is now treated as plural. 
• The Coopers and Michael - With AND, it doesn't matter if the individual subjects are singular or plural. AND = PLURAL. 

Special Note: English grammar has exceptions to every rule. If you order a peanut butter AND jelly sandwich, you'll get ONE sandwich. 
​
I hope you enjoyed this spoonful! Please feel free to comment, ask questions, or share this with your friends. 

Sincerely,
Laura Fineberg Cooper

www.laurafcooper.com
@spoonfulgrammar

Here's a short quiz:

Which of the following must occur in every sentence?

A.) Noun  B.) Verb  C.) Adjective
D.) Adverb  E.) Sugar and spice and everything nice.

The answer is B.) VERB.

Surprisingly, a verb is so powerful, it can even create a one word sentence like these:

Run! Fly! Bark! Yodel! Exclamation points are optional. 

Verbs come in two basic forms.
1) Ready, set, ACTION VERBS: Each of the one word sentences above used strong action verbs. Action verbs make your heart pound and your legs move. Using action verbs makes sentences ACTIVE!

2) To be or not to be: the 8 FORMS OF TO BE are also considered verbs - IS, WAS, ARE, WERE, AM, BE, BEEN, BEING. These are super handy to use in sentences, especially IS, WAS, ARE, and WERE. But beware- they make sentences PASSIVE, the opposite of ACTIVE. For history papers, that's appropriate. But for creative writing (especially picture books), beware of overuse. 

That's a wrap! Thanks for reading "A Spoonful of Grammar." 
​
Laura Fineberg Cooper
​
www.laurafcooper.com
​@spoonfulgrammar