Concord Made Easy: The 25 Golden Rules For JAMB English

Here is a small secret about JAMB English: Concord questions are almost free marks. They appear again and again, and the rules never change. Learn them once, and you can answer them in seconds.

Let's start from the beginning.

What Is Concord?

Concord simply means agreement. In English, the verb must agree with its subject.

• A singular subject takes a singular verb. The boy runs.
• A plural subject takes a plural verb. The boys run.

If they do not match, the sentence is wrong. That is all Concord is.

The One Trick That Confuses Everyone

Look at how the letter S behaves. It works in opposite directions for nouns and verbs.

• Nouns take S to become plural.
• Verbs take S to become singular.

Study this table side by side:

Remember this: S on a noun means many. S on a verb means one.

Example: The students write. (Students has S, so write has none.) The student writes. (Student has no S, so writes has one.)

The 25 Golden Rules Of Concord

The Basics

1. A singular subject takes a singular verb. The girl sings well.
2. A plural subject takes a plural verb. The girls sing well.
3. Two subjects joined by "and" take a plural verb. Ada and Obi are here.
4. Exception: if "and" joins one person or one idea, use a singular verb. My friend and teacher is here. Bread and butter is my breakfast.
5. Each, every, either, neither and "many a" take a singular verb. Each of the girls has a pen. Many a student has failed.
6. Someone, anyone, everyone, everybody, nobody and nothing take a singular verb. Everyone is ready.

Joining Words

7. With "either...or" and "neither...nor", the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Neither the teacher nor the students were late.
8. The same works for "not only...but also" and for "or" and "nor". Not only the boys but also the girl was punished.
9. "Together with", "as well as", "along with" and "in addition to" do not make a subject plural. The captain, together with his players, is late.
10. Words between the subject and the verb do not change the verb. The box of oranges is heavy. (The subject is box, not oranges.)

Tricky Nouns

11. A collective noun (team, class, committee, jury) is singular when it acts as one group. The team is winning. It is plural when the members act separately. The team are arguing among themselves.
12. Uncountable nouns take a singular verb. These include information, advice, furniture, luggage, equipment and water. The advice was useful.
13. Some nouns end in S but are singular. These include news, mathematics, physics, economics, politics and measles. Mathematics is difficult.
14. Some nouns are always plural. These include trousers, scissors, glasses, clothes, cattle, police and people. The police are here.
15. "A pair of" takes a singular verb. A pair of shoes is on the table.
16. Money, time, distance and weight treated as one amount take a singular verb. Ten thousand naira is too much. Five kilometres is far.
17. "The number of" is singular, while "a number of" is plural. The number of candidates is rising. A number of students were absent.
18. Titles of books, films, countries and organisations are singular. Things Fall Apart is a great novel. The United States is large.

Quantity Words

19. With "all, some, most, half and part of", the verb agrees with the noun after "of". Half of the cake is gone. Half of the students are gone.
20. Fractions and percentages follow the same rule. Two-thirds of the land is dry. Two-thirds of the pupils are here.
21. "None" is safest as singular in JAMB. None of the boys is here.
22. "One of" plus a plural noun takes a singular verb. One of the boys is late.

Special Cases

23. "There" and "here" do not decide the verb. The noun after the verb does. There is a book. There are five books.
24. Who, which and that take the verb of the word they describe. She is the girl who sings. They are boys who sing. Also: He is one of the boys who were chosen. (The word "who" points to the plural "boys".)
25. "I" takes "am", and "you" always takes "are". I am ready. You are ready. This is true even for one person.

A tip for the exam: when you see a Concord question, first find the real subject. Cross out any phrase between the subject and the verb. Then choose the verb.

Test Yourself: JAMB-Style Questions

Choose the correct option.

1. Each of the students ___ a textbook.
   A. have   B. has   C. are   D. were
2. Neither the teacher nor the pupils ___ present.
   A. was   B. is   C. were   D. has been
3. The news from the villages ___ not good.
   A. are   B. were   C. is   D. have been
4. Mathematics ___ my favourite subject.
   A. are   B. were   C. be   D. is
5. A number of students ___ absent yesterday.
   A. was   B. were   C. is   D. has been
6. The chief, together with his elders, ___ arrived.
   A. have   B. has   C. are   D. were
7. Ten thousand naira ___ too much for that shirt.
   A. are   B. were   C. is   D. have
8. There ___ many reasons why he left.
   A. is   B. was   C. are   D. has
9. She is one of the girls who ___ chosen.
   A. has   B. is   C. have   D. was
10. The number of candidates ___ increasing every year.
    A. are   B. is   C. were   D. have

Answers: 1. B · 2. C · 3. C · 4. D · 5. B · 6. B · 7. C · 8. C · 9. C · 10. B

If you got 8 or more right, well done. If not, read the rules again and try once more. Practice is what makes Concord automatic.

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