Definition

Noun: - Grammatical concord based on quantity: The grammatical rule requiring that related words in a sentence correspond in their number (singular or plural). This typically involves ensuring that verbs agree with their subjects, and that determiners, pronouns, and adjectives agree with the nouns they reference.

Usage

The term "number agreement" is used in linguistic and grammatical analysis to describe a fundamental syntactic rule. It is a core concept for constructing grammatically correct sentences. - It is most commonly discussed in the context of subject-verb agreement. - It also applies to agreement between nouns and their modifiers (like demonstratives or adjectives).

Examples

• Subject-Verb Agreement:
  • The cat sleeps on the mat. (Singular subject "cat" agrees with singular verb "sleeps".)
  • The cats sleep on the mat. (Plural subject "cats" agrees with plural verb "sleep".)
• Noun-Determiner Agreement:
  • I like this book. (Singular determiner "this" agrees with singular noun "book".)
  • I like these books. (Plural determiner "these" agrees with plural noun "books".)
• Noun-Pronoun Agreement:
  • The student finished her assignment. (Singular pronoun "her" agrees with singular noun "student".)
  • The students finished their assignments. (Plural pronoun "their" agrees with plural noun "students".)

Advanced Usage

• Notional Agreement: Sometimes agreement is based on meaning rather than strict grammatical form. For example, collective nouns like "team" or "government" can take a singular or plural verb depending on whether the group is seen as a single unit or as individuals.
  • The team is winning. (Agreement based on the team as a single unit.)
  • The team are putting on their uniforms. (Agreement based on the individual members; more common in British English.)
• Proximity Principle: In complex subjects joined by "or" or "nor", the verb may agree with the nearest noun.
  • Neither the players nor the coach is responsible. (Verb agrees with the singular noun "coach".)

Variants and Related Words

• Agreement (n.): The broader grammatical category that includes number agreement, as well as gender and case agreement.
• Concord (n.): A synonym for grammatical agreement.
• Disagreement (n.): The error that occurs when number agreement rules are violated.
  • Incorrect: The list of items are on the table. (The singular subject "list" disagrees with the plural verb "are".)

Synonyms

• Grammatical concord
• Syntactic agreement

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Subject-verb agreement: The most frequently cited subtype of number agreement.
• Noun-pronoun agreement: A specific rule for ensuring pronouns match their antecedents in number.
• Agreement error: A mistake in applying number agreement rules.

Noun

1. agreement in number between words in the same grammatical construction (e.g., between adjectives and the nouns they modify)