Chapter Four
Setting Standards

introduction | grammar | pragmatics and discourse | reflections | grammar detective | teaching ideas |

Some Concepts. Grammar Focus. Verbs and verb agreement

Introduction.

    No one speaks grammarless English. When people interact with one other, they don’t simply throw words together. For example, we wouldn’t expect anyone to say “The a in box knife put I” no matter how poorly they know English. Even beginners put their words together based on some pattern that they think will work. These patterns are the basis of grammar.

    Since we are interested in using descriptive grammar as the basis for helping others improve their English, we ought to be aware of the sources of the different rules English speakers seem to be following. This can give us clues as to how to help others learn Standard English. However, even defining Standard English is more complicated than we might think. Let’s test your knowledge of the differences between Standard English and other versions of English by looking at how the verbs work in Awareness Activity (AA) 4.1

Awareness Activity 4.1 Standard English and verbs

    In the following sentences something is wrong with the verbs according to the rules of Standard English. First identify what is wrong with the verb according to the rules of Standard English then try to identify the rule that the speaker was following.

1. Me come yesterday.
2. I knowed the answer to that.
3. He got creamed that time.
4. Mary doth like that.
5. I wish I was outside in the pool right now.
Let’s take a closer look at each one.

1. Me come yesterday.
    The correct version would be “I came yesterday.” This is an example of an error in learner English. Notice that for this speaker the rule for expressing past time is to use the regular form of the verb with a time word, in this case “yesterday.”  For verbs such as “put” and “cut” this works, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Notice that for the future this pattern is often a possibility, as in “I drive tomorrow“ or “We start at 9.” However, for the past the rule does not apply. You may have heard small children forming past tenses this way. Even older children and adults learning English as a new language make this kind of error in the beginning stages. When these learner-English type errors occur in the language of older learners, they are called interlanguage since they mark a transitional stage between the grammar of their native language and the grammar of English. This type of error usually takes care of itself as the learner is exposed to more English and identifies the correct form, in this case the –ed ending for the past tense.

2. I knowed the answer to that.
      This is an example of both overgeneralization and a stigmatized form. The Standard English version is “I knew the answer to that.” Many English speakers use “knowed” rather than “knew.” In fact the form has been common in English for generations. However, two centuries ago when language scholars were deciding which verb forms would be appropriate for Standard English, the historical “knew” rather than the more recent “knowed” was selected. Since “know-knew” is frequently used in academic discourse or what is often called CALP or Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency, its form has been monitored and reinforced by generations of teachers and editors of various types of reading material. Thus “knowed” has become stigmatized as uneducated English, even though there is no logical reason why “knowed” shouldn’t be correct since it follows the general pattern of other verbs that end in -ow, e.g. show- showed and mow-mowed. Historically many verbs used to have a vowel change for the past tense but now simply add –ed, e.g. help-holp (now helped). Some verbs alternate between the two versions of the past, e.g. dive-dove/dived, hang-hung/hanged as the –ed form of the past tense is generalized for all verbs. However, since these verbs are less common in academic English, their change is slipping through somewhat unnoticed. The application of the generalized -ed to “know” has not been accepted in academic circles, hence it is considered an uneducated overgeneralization.

3. He got creamed that time.
    The Standard English version might be “He was soundly defeated that time.” This is an example of conversational or interpersonal English. This type of English is sometimes called BICS or Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills. In this text we will simply call it interpersonal or street English since that is where it is often learned and used. Notice the conversational verb “creamed” which the dictionary defines as “slang, to defeat overwhelmingly.” It definitely would not appear in a history book though it might be used by a teacher giving a history lesson. Not only is the verb a conversational rather than an academic one, so is the “get” construction that accompanies it. In written Standard English the passive (where the subject of the sentence experiences the action of the verb rather than causes it) is formed by using a form of the verb “be” with the past participle of the action verb (usually ending in –ed). In this example we see the spoken language version of the passive with the verb “get” used with the past participle. School children, especially at younger ages, tend to use this version of the passive since the verb “get” implies that the subject of the sentence is receiving or getting the action. Adults also use this version of the passive from time to time in their spoken language, even in academic settings. English language learners who are picking up English on the streets may also use the get passive since that is what they hear others use and the passive meaning is more obvious with “get” than with “be.” However, this form is not seen in reading, except perhaps in fiction when the author is using a conversational tone.

    4. Mary doth like that.
The Standard English version would be “Mary likes that.” This is an example of archaic or poetic English grammar. An English language learner who likes to read texts from in the 17th Century, such as Shakespeare or the King James version of the Bible, might be tempted to use this form since English verb agreement at the time used –th rather than –s in the present tense. Adding a “doth” rather than using “liketh” simply added another syllable to the sentence and followed the pattern of putting the tense marking on a helping verb rather than the verb itself.  However, this pattern of using –th died out as Standard English was being established in the 19th Century. Today it is found mostly in love poetry and in quotations from Shakespeare or the Bible.

5. I wish I was outside in the pool right now.
    According to Standard English the sentence should read “I wish I were outside in the pool right now.” This is an example of language change and the difference between formal and informal English This use of the past tense form to indicate a present time wish is an example of what is called the subjunctive. Notice how this applies to other verbs, as in “I wish I had more time” or “I wish I knew the answer.” However, the historical rule for the subjunctive is based on the plural form of the past tense even when the subject of the verb is singular. For all verbs except the verb “be” this rule doesn’t matter today because there is only one form in the past. However, with “be” there are two past tense forms in Standard English, “was-were.” Thus this is the only verb to which the historical rule applies. Since the rule only applies to one verb, English speakers are simplifying the subjunctive form by still using the past tense but having regular verb agreement apply. As in sentences 2 and 4, this is another example of how the rules of English change over time. These changes are more readily accepted in less formal interpersonal or street English than in closely monitored academic English. In the last decade, grammar books have begun to accept “I wish I was,” though the historically correct “I wish I were” still is preferred in more formal, highly edited contexts.

    We can see then that English language learners are surrounded by different versions or dialects of English, each with its own special uses. Standard English is just one of those dialects. As Standard English began its development, it was based a particular dialect that had prestige at the time. Scholars wrote grammar books and dictionaries to standardize its usage and vocabulary throughout the English-speaking world. The vocabulary was then developed so it could be used in various academic and professional endeavors. These standards were promoted through teachers in schools and editors in the print media. Through their use in print and later through film, radio, and television the public developed loyalty to the norms.

    In the beginning stages of this standardization process when people were unsure of the correct forms, prescriptive grammar was the norm. Prescriptive grammar is a corrective grammar based on what certain authorities believe should be the correct form for educated people no matter what people in general may be doing. However, now that the norms of Standard English are commonly accepted, at least in academic and professional settings, there has been a movement to informalize English grammar, in other words to take the language out of the hands of experts and return it to the people. Sometimes this is called the plain English movement. Others call it a movement to make English more reader friendly or user friendly. Opponents to this informalization movement call it dumbing down the language and call for a return to the principles of prescriptive grammar. However, in tune with the times the focus for most grammar books today, including this one, is on descriptive grammar and how English is actually used by its speakers for various purposes.

    Teachers also need to be aware of pedagogical grammar. Pedagogical grammar is in some ways prescriptive in the sense that it teaches learners a new and more appropriate way of using English. However, pedagogical grammars usually are based on descriptive principles, focusing not just on formal academic usage but including other aspects of grammar that might be useful for various special purposes. Thus pedagogical grammars are designed to help English language learners successfully interact with other English language users.  To see how this descriptive way of looking at Standard English works, let’s look at verbs with a focus on verb agreement.

Grammar.

     Before we can look at the rules of verb agreement, we have to make sure that we can find the verbs in a sentence. We can look for the verbs on the basis of meaning. Verbs are sometimes called “doing words” or “action words” (run, jump, swim, eat) because they tell what the subject of the sentence is doing. As such they can also be made into commands. However, they also express such things as existence or state (be, become, appear) and mental conditions and processes (believe, deduce, enjoy). Some verbs have little meaning and only support the meaning provided by the other words (She is pretty. We had breakfast. He did the dishes. Yes, I do.) Verbs bind the sentence together showing the relationship between the participants in the action, process or state.

     Verbs can also be identified by their structure, usually their endings. One type of ending is called derivational. These are endings that change other words into verbs. For example, two very common verb-making endings are –ize and –ify, as in computerize, digitize, identify, and mortify. Another is –en, as in redden, worsen, and sadden. Note that these derivational endings apply only to a small number of verbs. Inflectional endings are more common and apply to verbs in general. They are usually associated with indicating when the action takes place. For example, there are two endings association with indicating that the action is on-going. The –ing creates what is usually called the present participle (John is swimming. Mary is eating.)  The other is added to verbs when you are talking about things in the singular but are not talking about the person you are addressing, in other words the third person singular. This -s is added to the verb in the simple present tense. (He swims. Mary eats. The horse gallops. But: I swim. You eat. The horses gallop.) Notice that with verbs, -s indicates that the verb is singular, with nouns the –s indicates that the noun is plural.

    To indicate that the action is completed there also two sets of inflectional endings associated with verbs. For many verbs commonly in conversation, this notion of being completed is indicated by changing the pronunciation of the vowel. (He eats, he ate, he has eaten. He rides, he rode, he has ridden. He falls, he fell, he has fallen.) For most verbs, however, the notion of completion is indicated by simply adding –ed. (He serves, he served, he has served. The movie ends, the movie ended, the movie has ended.) . The name of the first of these completion forms is the simple past tense. Grammarians traditionally call this the –ed ending even though it applies only to the regular verbs. The other is called the past participle. Grammarians traditionally call this the –en ending for historical reasons, based on the –en we saw on our samples of the common irregular verbs that change their vowels to indicate that an action is completed. This past participle combines with have to form the perfect tenses (He has served) and with be to form the passive (He was served) Of course the regular verbs use –ed for both the past and the past participle. One learning problem is that there is no way to predict which verbs follow which pattern. How these present and past forms interact with each other to indicate when something happened is the topic of the next chapter.

    The third way to identify verbs is to look at the surrounding words or frames.  One overriding frame comes from the basic SVO word order of English. That means that at the beginning of the sentence we give the subject (S), usually the person or thing causing the action, followed by the verb (V) or the action. The object (O) or the thing that the action is happening to follows the verb. Verbs can be put into categories according to the frames that accompany them. For example, verbs that appear in the frame SVO (Peter ate an apple.) are called object verbs (traditionally, transitive verbs). Verbs in the frame SV (Joan slept) are no-object verbs (traditionally, intransitive). Verbs in the frame SVOO (I gave Jose a book.) are called two object verbs (traditionally, ditransitive). Verbs in the frame SVAdjective (I feel sick.) are called complement verbs (traditionally, linking).

    There is even a more localized frame that can be used to identify verbs. Main verbs can stand alone, as we have seen in our sample sentences. However, they can be combined with the auxiliary or helping verbs be and have to form tenses in addition to the simple present or past. (She is eating it. She has eaten it.) Thus the frames She is _____-ing (it) and She has _____ -en (it) can indicate that a word it a verb. Another frame that identifies verbs is based on the negative (She doesn’t eat it.). That frame would be She doesn’t _______(it). Verbs also can combine with modal auxiliaries to indicate the likelihood that something will happen (She may eat it. She will see it.) yielding the frame She may _____ (it). Notice that with modals (e.g. can, may, will, shall, must) there is no verb agreement. We’ll look at modals more closely in Chapter 5. These helping verbs can also substitute for the main verb to avoid repetition (I am, He can. They will. She has. She doesn’t.)

    Now that we know the criteria for identifying the main verb in a sentence, let us look at some principles of verb agreement or concord according to Standard English.
 

1. The general rule of thumb is that concord only applies in the present tense when the subject of the sentence is third person singular. An -s is added to verbs or auxiliaries, whichever comes first.

2. There is no verb agreement with modals.

3. Some words (e.g. people, police, clergy) are considered plural even though they do not end in –s. Some words that used to be in this category (e.g. data, media) are now switching to being considered singular.

4. Adjectives being used as nouns to describe people are considered plural. (The poor are demanding more food.)

5. Some words (e.g. billiards, darts, news, measles) end in –s but are considered singular.

6. Words ending in –ics (e.g. ethics, physics, politics, mathematics) can be considered both singular and plural.

7. Group or collective nouns (family, jury, audience, committee, crew, congress, government) are singular in form but plural in meaning. They are usually considered singular for concord. However, at times they are considered plural, especially in British usage. (The crew has/have left already.)

8. The pronouns who and which can be singular or plural depending on what they are referring to. (The cars which are in the yard need washing. The car which is in the yard needs washing. Who is that? Who are they?)

9. When there is a modifying prepositional phrase, the non-intervention principle applies, i.e. concord is with the noun ahead of the preposition rather than with the noun closest to the verb. (The mother of my friends is coming over.

10. One of, none of, each of, and every one of are considered singular with the non-intervention principle applying. (One of those dogs has barked all night. Each of the boys has his own bed.)

11. Items with two parts (e.g. scissors, pants, eyeglasses, shoes) follow the nonintervention principle and are singular for verb agreement when pair of is present (My pair of pants has a stain on them. A pair of glasses is on the table.) and plural when pair absent (My pants have a stain on them. Your glasses are on the table.)

12. With all of, some of, a lot of constructions that indicate the quantity of something, the proximity principle applies, meaning that verb agreement is with the closest noun. (All of the soup is ready. All of the books are here. A lot of rain causes flooding. A lot of my clothes are too tight.)

13. The verb be has concord not only in the present for all the persons (I am, you are, he is, we are, they are) but the past (I was, he was, you were, we were, they were.)

Pragmatics and Discourse.

 When we help people learn English, we hope that what we are teaching is based on descriptive principles. That way what we teach is reinforced when they interact with others. Let’s look at a sampling of pragmatic conditions to see how they affect the principles of verb agreement in Standard English. First let’s contrast interpersonal and academic English then let’s look at how even within academic English special rules apply.

    Interpersonal English and Concord. Although the verb is  is the most common word in spoken English, it causes many problems for language learners. First of all it usually appears in its contracted form (John’s coming. That’s wonderful. Who’s that? Here’s the book. Susie’s back). This results in two problems for language learners. Many languages do not have a verb to be so speakers of these languages are not expecting to hear one when they learn English. Since the English version is attached to a preceding word, many do not notice it. Even young children learning English as their native language may not notice it. Thus they produce sentences without is. (Susie back. John coming. She my friend.)  Second, since so many sentences in interpersonal English begin with combinations such as where’s (Where’s your car?), here’s (Here’s your food) and there’s (There’s an apple over there), many speakers use them as prefabricated chunks rather than contractions of the verb is. You’ll notice that in these cases the logical subject comes after the verb so concord should be based on what follows the verb be rather than what precedes it, an unusual pattern in present day English. (Where are your clothes?, Here are assignments. There are two boys over there.) Thus when speakers use chunking, they ignore traditional verb agreement rules. (Where’s my books? There’s two girls outside. Here’s your parents.)

    A second problem with concord in interpersonal language concerns the tendency to simplify the patterns in nonstandard English. For example, some speakers no longer use concord in the past tense of be and use only was for all persons (I was, you was, she was, we was, they was). Others add –s to all the singular verbs in the simple present, not just the third person (I says, you says). Others in the simple present have dropped verb agreement. (He don’t. She play in the yard.) Since verb agreement is a high frequency grammar point in English, teachers and editors watch carefully for it. Therefore these new forms, though common in many communities, are stigmatized.

    Another concord change is happening even among the educated and is less noticed. As we saw earlier, the nonintervention principle applies when the subject of the sentence is followed by a prepositional phrase. (One of the boys is coming along.) Standard English says that since one and none (literally not one) are both singular, the nonintervention principle should yield the same verb agreement for both (None of the boys is coming along.) However, descriptive studies indicate that with none most people apply the proximity principle rather than the nonintervention principle. (None of the boys are coming. None of the pie tastes good.) The switch from the nonintervention principle to the proximity principle is also becoming true with each and every (Each of the boys have something to do. Every one of the toys are broken.)

    Academic English and Concord: Science and Math. The concord rules of Standard English have special applications when dealing with science. The first has to do with formulas. No matter how many things are combined, subtracted, multiplied, or divided, the verb agreement is always singular. (One plus three equals four. Four times four is sixteen. Two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen produces water.) Notice how this differs from the rule for interpersonal English. (One cow and three horses are in the field) To remind children that the math English differs from conversational English, teachers are told to read 1+2=3 as one plus two equals three rather than one and two is three.

     The plural unit words for distance, time, money, and weight are also considered singular. (5 miles is a long way. 20 minutes goes fast. 4 dollars is not much. 50 pounds is not too heavy.) Fractions and percentages present another problem. They follow the proximity principle in that the verb agreement is plural if they modify a plural noun (Two thirds of the birds are sparrows. Fifteen percent of the coins were damaged.) and singular if a singular noun follows (One third of the water is gone. Forty percent of the sugar has dissolved.) For collective or group nouns, the agreement may be singular or plural. (One tenth of the population agrees. One tenth of the population agree.)

Reflections.

1. Why are the following concepts important for teachers or learners of English?

2. Using the “They can ______(it).” frame, test if the following can be used as verbs
creation  pacify  walk  deficit  sufficient
hunt  score  remain  large  tension
collide  between  use  format  dictionary
3. How can the following be made into verbs?
critic  sensational  red   strength  caliber
4. Find the main verb in the following sentences. What are the meaning clues, endings, and frames that you used? 5. Verbs can be in different categories according to the frame that they fit.  Give three sample verbs for each of these frames. Can any verbs fit more than one frame? 6. Some children playing in the street were heard to say the following sentences. What seems to be going on with the verbs they are using? What do you think is the source of the new forms? 7. What are the past tenses and past participles for the following verbs? Compare your answers with your classmates.  Have you heard any other interesting forms in your associations with others?
learn   dive   see   drink   swim
hear   dream  bring  give
8. Put the following verbs in the frame It ____-s  and take note of the inflectional ending. What seems to be the rule for pronouncing  –s on verbs?
sing  swim  play  hurt  jump  go
rise rush  see  bet  back  bluff  rub
9. The verb go is very irregular in its forms for the past and the past participle (go/went/gone). The past tense form went actually comes from another verb that has almost disappeared from the language, wend (Dorothy must wend her way to Oz.) Some suggest that there is another alternative is developing for the past participle based on the verb be. (go/went/been) as evidenced by pattern This boat goes up the river. This boat went up the river.  and This boat has been up the river. As a descriptive linguist in the making, what do you think? Replace gone with been in other sentences you create to see if it truly is a valid alternative that students ought to know about, at least for interpersonal English. Does the new alternative mean the same?

10. What seems to be the rule for how to pronounce the –ed on the following?

smoothed  faded  puffed  purred followed
looked  printed  washed  tapped
11. Explain the rule of Standard English that was broken in the following sentences.


Grammar Detective 4. Exploring Verb Agreement
Instructions:

1. Darts is/are so boring.

2. Two plus two is/are four.

3. One of the firemen enjoys/enjoy hearing the alarm go off.

4. None of the firemen enjoys/enjoy hearing the alarm go off.

5. All of the water is/are polluted.

6. All of the students is/are here.

7. All of the crew is/are here.

8. Each of them sees/see many advantages in the plan.

9. A pair of scissors is/are on the table.

10. There’s/There’re too many students here.


Teaching Ideas.

1. What’s the schedule? Verb agreement is an important part of the simple present tense. This tense is used to give general conditions, such as personal schedules. For this teaching activity collect pictures from magazines of people doing things. Give one to each student then put them into pairs. Instruct them that each picture illustrates something that this person does very often. Have them tell their partner what the person does to prepare for the illustrated activity. Then tell what happens as the person finishes the activity.  For example, maybe the picture is of an unshaven father holding his baby. Some before activities might include: He hears the baby cry. He picks her up. He walks the floor. Some after activities might include: He gives the baby to her mother. He shaves and showers and dresses for work.

2.  What am I doing? This activity practices the relationship between I am and You are in conversation and involves pantomime. The teacher performs an action (e.g. pretends to read a book or pretends to pick and smell flowers) and asks “What am I doing?” The students answer “You’re reading a book” or “You’re smelling a flower.” The students then take turns acting and asking “What am I doing?” with their classmates answering with the appropriate “You’re....”

3. What was there? This activity practices was/were. In a small lunch bag place several small objects (e.g. school supplies or toys), some duplicate, some single. Empty the bag onto the table in front of the class and let the students memorize what was there. Then put every thing back into the bag and have the group recall what was there with the phrase “There was...” or “There were....” as appropriate.

4. Past Tense Bingo. Make yourself a list of common verbs with irregular past tenses that your students need to learn. Make enough Bingo cards for all the class out of large note cards. Turn the side with lines sideways and with a ruler draw lines to create playing cards with16 squares in a box (4 squares x 4 squares). Using your list of verbs, randomly write in the 16 squares the present tense of 16 verbs. On another set of cards write the past tense of these same verbs, one per card. These will be your draw cards. Give each student a Past Tense Bingo card and several beans or opener rings from soda cans to mark the spaces when they have a match. Shuffle your draw cards and place them in a bowl. Draw one and read the irregular past tense. Students who have the present tense version of that verb written in a square shout out the present tense and cover the square with a marker. Each student who has that verb then has to say a sentence that uses that verb in the past tense. Keep repeating the process. When one student has completed a row of four horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, the student shouts “Past Tense Bingo.”  The bingo cards are cleared, the draw cards are returned to the bowl and the game starts again with the winning student drawing the verbs from the bowl and monitoring the activities of the other students.