My Grammar and I (Or Should That Be 'Me'?): Old-School Ways to Sharpen Your English

D
ON
’
T YOU AGREE
? (
OR
, A
GREEMENT
)
Rule: Parts of a sentence must agree with each other. A singular subject takes a
singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.
I was born in a caravan.
She is only a bird in a gilded cage.
What were we talking about?
They don’t make them like that any more .
Straightforward enough? Less obvious, perhaps, are:
He is one
of those
men who
sing in the
Those men , plural, are the subject of the verb sing.

---

shower.
A person
knows
when
he/she is
being rude.
Many people nowadays would say, A person knows when
they are being rude . Perhaps better to avoid the issue by
saying People know when they are being rude instead.
And what about:
My brother and his girlfriend (two people) have bagged the spare room.
It sounds as if my brother or his girlfriend (one or the other but not both) has used
all the hot water.
Rule: Use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by
and . Two singular subjects connected by or or nor take the singular form of the
verb.
And  another  rule:  either  and  neither  are  both  singular.  Neither  of  them  has
thought about my needing to wash. Either he or she is bathing last tomorrow, if I
have any say in the matter.