Concord, its rules and usages.

Concord

Concord in the use of English language means agreement between the subject and the verb or agreement

between a verb and other elements of clause structure.

In the use of concord in English language, there are many rules governing the topic.

So let's analyse the rules one by one.

Rule 1

Subject and verb concord

When the subject in a sentence is singular, the verb should also be singular.

For example,

She (singular subject) goes (singular verb), not: She go ( plural verb). Also, when the subject is plural,

the verb should also be plural.

Forming Compound Nouns

As mentioned, compound nouns are formed by combining two or more words, with the most common combinations being noun + noun or adjective + noun.

However, combinations using other parts of speech are also possible. Below are

the various combinations used to create compound nouns.

Noun + noun

There are a great number of compound nouns formed using the noun + noun

combination. For example:

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Definition

Countable nouns (also known as count nouns) are nouns that can be considered as individual, separable items, which means that we are able to count them with numbers—we can have one, two, five, 15, 100, and so on. We can also use them with the indefinite articles a and an (which signify a single person or thing) or in their plural forms.

Countable nouns contrast with uncountable nouns (also known as non-count or mass nouns), which cannot be separated and counted as individual units or elements. Uncountable nouns cannot take an indefinite article, nor can they be made plural.

Singular

When a noun is singular and names a person (or, sometimes, a pet) whose gender is known,* then we use the third-person singular he, him, or his (masculine) or she, her, or hers (feminine). For example:

Subject-Verb Agreement

Because countable nouns can be either singular or plural, it is very important to use the correct subject-verb agreement when they are functioning as the subject of a clause.

Subject-verb agreement refers to using certain conjugations of verbs for singular subjects and using other conjugations for plural subjects. This happens most noticeably with the verb to be, which becomes is or was with singular subject nouns and are or were with plural subjects.

For example:

• “My brother is back from college.” (singular present simple tense)

Some Great Lessons on Nouns

Nouns: Definition

Nouns are words that indicate a person, place, or thing.

In a sentence, nouns can function as the subject or the object of a verb or

preposition. Nouns can also follow linking verbs to rename or re-identify the

subject of a sentence or clause; these are known as predicate nouns.

The Subject

The subject in a sentence or clause is the person or thing doing, performing, or controlling the action of the verb. For example:

• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun dog is performing the action of the verb

chase.)

• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The proper noun Mary is performing the action of the verb read.)

Objects

Grammatical objects have three grammatical roles: the direct object of a verb, the indirect object of a verb, or the object of a preposition.

Direct objects

Direct objects are what receive the action of the verb in a sentence or clause.

For example:

• “The dog chased its tail.” (The noun tail is receiving the action of the verb

chase.)

• “Mary reads a book every week.” (The noun book is receiving the action of the verb read.)

Indirect objects

An indirect object is the person or thing who receives the direct object of the verb. For instance:

• “Please pass Jeremy the salt.” (The proper noun Jeremy is receiving the direct object salt, which receives the action of the verb pass.)

• “I sent the company an application for the job.” (The noun company is receiving the direct object application, which receives the action of the verb sent).