Common grammar mistakes series: subject-verb-agreement

Our Primary 5 English Paper 2 tips and advice section provides comprehensive guidance on essential grammatical structures, including this post that covers the subject-verb agreement, which is one of the most important concepts for students to master. Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental aspect of English grammar, yet it often presents challenges for Primary 5 students. Not mastering subject-verb agreement can lead to common errors in Grammar MCQ, Editing, and Synthesis & Transformation sections of Paper 2. Understanding this aspect is key to improving accuracy, especially when dealing with phrases like ‘all of’ and ‘some of’—which are often a source of confusion in the Grammar MCQ section.

So, have you been using ‘all of’ and ‘some of’ correctly? Do you get confused about which is the subject when you see ‘all of’ and ‘some of’ in the Grammar MCQ section of Paper 2? If you do, here is the correct way to use ‘all of’ and ‘some of’.

Common subject-verb-agreement mistakes made by upper Primary students – ‘all of’ & ‘some of’

When students see the word all or some, they immediately assume that the verb that follows will be in plural form.

Example

All of the cutlery are clean.

Unfortunately, this is incorrect.

Grammar Rule

They should not be looking at ‘all of’. Instead they should focus on the noun that comes after ‘all of’.

All of the cutlery is clean

If the noun is plural, then the verb should also be in the plural form.

All of the horses are brown

Here, the noun is horses and horses are considered plural.

The same rule applies for ‘some of’

Examples

Some of the cutlery is clean.
Some of the horses are brown

So, when you come across questions like this one in your grammar MCQ, remember to identify the correct subject and make sure that your verb agrees with your subject. Stay tuned for more common grammar mistakes in our Common Grammar Mistakes Series.