STUCTURE Skill 12. Agreement after Expressions of Quantity

 

Materi: Agreement after Expressions of Quantity

Skill 12. Agreement After Expressions of Quantity

A particular agreement problem occurs when the subject is an expression of quantity like all, most,
or some followed by the preposition of. In this situation, the subject (all, most, or some) can be singular or plural, depending on what follows the preposition of.

           Most (of the meal*) was delicious. 
           (meal = singular noun)

           Most (of the meals*) were delicious. 
           (meals = plural noun)

           Most (of the food*) was delicious. 
           (food = uncountable noun)

In the first example, the subject most refers to the singular noun meal, so the correct verb is therefore the singular verb was. In the second example, the subject most refers to the plural noun meals, so the correct verb is the plural verb were. In the third example, the subject most refers to the uncountable noun food, so the correct verb is therefore the singular verb was. 

These sentences contain examples of the types of problems that are common on the TOEFL test

         All (of the book) were* interesting.

         Half (of the students) is* late to class.

In the first example, the plural verb were should be the singular verb was because the subject all refers to the singular noun book. In the second example, the singular verb is should be the plural verb are because the subject half refers to the plural noun students.

Note :
All / most / some / half / part + of the (object) + verb

When an expression of quantity using of is the subject, the verb agrees with the object.



Each of the following sentences has a quantity expression as the subject. Identify the subjects and the verbs. Ensure the objects agree with the verbs. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

    C    1. Half of the (students) in the class arrive early.

    I     2. Some of the (fruit) are rotten.

 3. All of the next chapter contains very important information.

 4. Most of the people in the room is paying attention.

 5. Part of the soup is left on the stove.

 6. Some of the movie were just too violent for me.

 7. All of the details in the report needs to be checked.

 8. Most of the money is needed to pay the bills.

 9. The first half of the class consists of lecture and note-taking.

 10. Some of the questions on the test was impossible to answer

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