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Glite Dictionary
number agreement

number agreement

5.3
A rule that makes verbs and adjectives match a noun's singular or plural
  • noun
  • /ˈnʌmbər əˈɡrimənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : concordancia de número
  • The teacher explained that number agreement is why we say 'these apples' instead of 'this apple'.

Examples

  • In English, number agreement requires that plural subjects take plural verbs.

  • Mistakes in number agreement are common for learners of foreign languages.

  • The teacher explained that number agreement is why we say 'these apples' instead of 'this apples'.

  • The number agreement in this sentence is incorrect.

  • Can you explain the number agreement rules?

  • In English, number agreement requires that plural subjects take plural verbs.

  • Mistakes in number agreement are common for learners of foreign languages.

Surface Forms

number agreement singular
number agreements plural

Morphology

number + agreement

The compound directly combines 'number' (singular/plural category) with 'agreement' (matching of forms), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to grammatical matching of number between related words. This compositional pattern is common across languages and follows standard grammatical terminology, making it immediately interpretable by a B1 learner.

Etymology

Number agreement comes from the simple idea that words must 'agree' about number (one or many). So a single subject needs a 'singular' verb and many subjects need a 'plural' verb, which is why the parts of a sentence must match.