Earticle

English is shown to exhibit some unique aspects and properties with respect to number agreement between the subject and the verb. As these aspects are not quite straightforward, we encounter a lot of variation in the judgment of the number of the subject NP among and across NEs and NNEs. We also encounter a huge divergence between NEs and NNEs as they rest on their implicit and explicit grammar knowledge, respectively, for their judgment on number. Here arise some linguistic and pedagogical implications for teaching grammar to EFL learners: how to teach English number agreement, developing linguistic competence, and how to help them get implicit knowledge, leading to communicative competence.