It’s a Match!
Subject-Verb & Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
L.3.1f. Ensure subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent
agreement.
CCSS Progressive Language Skill
Grades 3-12
Understandings 1. Subjects and verbs must match in number and tense. It doesn’t matter how many
words or phrases separate the subject and verb or if the subject and verb are
to Develop Over
reversed in the sentence.
Time in Grades
a. Singular subjects need singular verbs.
3-8
b. Plural subjects need plural verbs.
c. Collective nouns (jury, family, class, committee, etc.) take either a
singular or plural verb depending on how they are used, but more often
than not they are singular.

If the collective noun is acting in unison it takes a singular verb.

If the collective noun is functioning as a group of individuals acting
individually it takes a plural verb.
d. Linking (links subject-predicate) and helping (auxiliary) verbs (“help”
another verb) are categorized as singular and plural, too. Special
attention should be paid to them, as they can be tricky. Here is one
example for the forms of “to be”.

Singular forms: (I) am, (he, she, it) is, (I, he, she, it) was, (I) *have
been, (he, she, it) has been *Note the rule breaker!!!

Plural forms: (we, they) are, (we, they) were, (we, they) have been
e. Irregular verbs don’t follow the same patterns as regular verbs for the
plural form, so some may need to be addressed as needed. This is the
focus of CCSS L.3.1d so will not be explored in depth here, but it bears
noting.
2. Subjects and verbs must match in person (i.e. first-person is speaking using “I”
or “we”, second-person is being spoken to using “you” or “your”, and thirdperson is being spoken about using he/she/it- from the omniscient viewpoint).
3. Pronouns must match their antecedents. This standard is the pre-cursor to
L.6.1c and L.6.1d in the Language Progressive Standards for Grades 6-12.
a. In number, singular (I, you, he, she, it) and plural (we, you, they)
b. In person: first-person (I, we), second-person (you), and third-person (he,
she, it, they)
c. In gender: feminine, masculine, or neuter
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
1
Instructional
Considerations
The more complex our sentences become, the easier it is to lose subject-verb
agreement. Students need lots of time close reading complex sentences and
experimenting in their own writing. Analyzing real literature examples will provide
opportunities to discuss why subject-verb agreement matters and how authors
maintain agreement within rich, complex sentences. This is one of only two
language standards in the CCSS that should be explicitly taught and applied with
increasing sophistication from grades 3 through 12. In other words, it’s pretty
important and merits our on-going attention in increasingly more sophisticated
sentences and texts.
Students will need to have a basic understanding of subjects and verbs
(regular/irregular, action/state of being) in order to consider subject-verb agreement.
This is why this skill is not introduced until Grade 3 in the CCSS. In Kindergarten
through Grade 2 the CCSS Language Standards focus on understanding and using
nouns, verbs, simple sentences and compound sentences. It may be necessary to
double back and review these earlier expectations outlined in the CCSS Language
Standards K-2 before addressing subject-verb agreement with your students. In
addition, in Grade 3 an earlier sub-standard, L.3.1a “Explain the function of nouns,
pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs in general and their function in particular
sentences”, might serve as a nice pre-curser to the subject-verb agreement standard
addressed here.
Online Helpful
Resources
Perdue Owl Online Writing Lab (associated with Purdue University) is a very
easy-to-maneuver site with lots of great support for the conventions and rules of
English. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/1/
Grammar Bytes has some great resources for following the “rules” of English.
They also have a YouTube Channel. http://www.chompchomp.com/rules.htm
Essential
Questions
•
•
•
•
What do writers consider when crafting sentences? (overarching EQ)
Why does subject-verb agreement matter?
How can I ensure my subject and verbs agree in my writing?
Under what circumstances do “the rules” change?
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
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Sample holistic rubric for general assessment of
subject-verb, pronoun-antecedent agreement
L.3.1f. Ensure subjectverb and pronounantecedent agreement.
Proficient
Writing reflects an
application of in-class
learning for subjectverb agreement and for
pronoun-antecedent
agreement in everyday
writing. All or most
sentences agree in
number, tense, and
narration. It is apparent
that the writer reread
the writing to ensure
consistent subject-verb
agreement.
Approaching
Writing reflects an
attempt to apply inclass learning for
subject-verb agreement
and for pronounantecedent agreement in
everyday writing. Some
sentences agree in
number, tense, and
narration. The writer
needs to re-read and
edit to ensure consistent
subject-verb agreement
in all sentences.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
Novice
Writing reflects little
application of in-class
learning for subjectverb agreement and/or
pronoun-antecedent
agreement in everyday
writing. There are many
errors in the agreement
for number, tense, and
narration. The writer
needs to reread and edit
to ensure subject-verb
agreement consistency
in all sentences.
3
Sample lessons These lessons are meant to provide you with a general idea of how different lessons
might flow. They offer varying levels of support for scaffolding. Notice how each sample lesson follows
the workshop and includes at least one way of teaching grammar using mentor sentences.
Lesson Sample 1: In this introductory lesson students will notice and imitate as they hone in on subjects
and verbs as necessary parts of a sentence. They will recognize that a sentence needs to have these two
parts in order to function well. (This lesson offers you a high level of support.)
Primary Focus: students will recognize that authors use subjects and verbs when writing.
Secondary Focus: students will recognize that word choice in writing is critical to the meaning and
effect a text has on its readers
Mentor Sentence: Then Pa stuck his sharp hatchet in his belt, he hung his powder-horn beside the
hatchet, he put the patch-box and the bullet-pouch in his pocket, and he took his gun on his arm.
1. Introduce the EQ: Encourage students to discuss in table groups. Invite sharing.
Focused
Instruction 2. “What are some things you don’t think much about until they go wrong or
malfunction?” Invite sharing. (ex. Our health, transportation, etc.)
EQ: What
3. “Today we are going to begin studying something that you may not have considered
do writers
before. Grammar is something we don’t think much about until it doesn’t work. Just
consider
like we try to take good care of our bodies or cars so they don’t malfunction…we
when
need to understand how to take good care of our sentences so they don’t malfunction.
crafting
4. Show mentor sentence and the book source if students are not familiar. Invite students
sentences?
to read it 3x before talking with their table or partner about what they like about how
the author crafted the sentence. Invite sharing.
5. Use questions like these to help students notice that good sentences have subjects and
verbs that work well together and that the rest of the sentence is built around:
 Who or what is this sentence about? Why might knowing that be important?
 What is Pa doing in the sentence? What specific words tell us this? What kind of
words are those? What do you notice about those words?
 What if this sentence was missing one of these pieces? Would it function well?
 What have you have learned about what makes a sentence function well, rather
than malfunction?”
6. Invite students to talk in their table groups about what they are learning about the EQ.
Invite sharing and record on a chart. Listen for ideas that show students are beginning
to understand that authors build good sentences around subjects and verbs that go well
together.
7. “If you were to borrow the writing style of Ms.Wilder in this sentence, what would
Realyou do.” Demonstrate for students how you imitate this sentence. Be sure to use a
World
think aloud to model how you think about word choice for the subject and verbs.
Application
8. Provide time for students to imitate this sentence on their own. Encourage them to
think like Ms.Wilder did as they put their sentence together. Direct them to the EQ
chart as needed for reminders about subject and verbs.
9. In pairs, invite students to share their sentence, talk about what worked and didn’t
Reflective
work for them, and discuss what new insight they have into the EQ.
Closure
10. Select a few students to share their sentences with the whole class. Invite the other
students to provide feedback: What do you notice about the sentence? In what ways
did the student author imitate Ms. Wilder?
11. Wrap up with a whole class discussion on what new insights into the EQ they have
after writing and imitating. “Why do authors need to think about subjects and verbs
when writing?”
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
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Lesson Sample 2: In this lesson students will edit as they begin to focus on subject-verb agreement.
(This lesson offers you a moderate level of support.)
Primary Focus: students will recognize that authors ensure subject-verb agreement by thinking about
number and tense
Secondary Focus: students will experiment by changing the sentence while maintaining subject-verb
agreement
Mentor Sentence: Then Pa stuck his sharp hatchet in his belt, he hung his powder-horn beside the
hatchet, he put the patch-box and the bullet-pouch in his pocket, and he took his gun on his arm.
1. Invite students to reflect and share what they have learned so far about the EQ and
Focused
how authors craft sentences that function well. Show the original mentor sentence and
Instruction
tell students that their job today is to see if there is more to think about when building
EQ: What
sentences using subjects and verbs.
do writers
2. Show edited mentor sentence. Ask students to talk about what is different and
consider
whether the sentence still functions well. Discuss.
when
Then Pa stick his sharp hatchet in his belt, he hang his powder-horn beside the
crafting
hatchet, he put the patch-box and the bullet-pouch in his pocket, and he take his gun
sentences?
on his arm.
3. Ask students to think about how they could fix this sentence so that it functions well.
Are there more ways to “fix it” in addition to changing the verbs back to the original?
Establish that for our purpose today “fixing” just means making it function well.
4. Model for students how you “fix” the sentence by maintaining singular, present-tense.
Then Pa sticks his sharp hatchet in his belt, he hangs his powder-horn beside the
hatchet, he puts the patch-box and the bullet-pouch in his pocket, and he takes his gun
on his arm.
5. Invite students to discuss whether or not this fixes it and why it works. Elicit thinking
about the idea of singular subject-singular verb and maintaining present tense.
6. Revisit EQ and have students articulate what additional insight they have.
7. Invite students to work in pairs to “fix” the sentence in two more ways. They must
Realmaintain the gist of the sentence like I did in my example. Encourage creativity, but
World
most of all challenge students to see what new ideas they have about how authors
Application
craft sentences using subjects and verbs that function well.
8. Choose a few student examples that will get students thinking about subject-verb
Reflective
agreement in number (singular/plural) and tense (past, present, future).
Closure
9. Revisit the EQ chart and add new ideas about how authors think about subjects and
verbs while crafting good sentences.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
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Lesson Sample 3: In this short lesson students will learn about collecting sentences that follow a similar
pattern. They also have an opportunity to write under the influence. They will use this to help them
investigate subject-verb agreement specifically by number and tense. (This lesson offers you a light
level of support.)
Primary Focus: students will recognize that authors ensure subject-verb agreement by thinking about
number and tense
Secondary Focus: students will begin looking for examples in literature that are similar in some way to
the mentor text
Mentor Sentence: Then Pa stuck his sharp hatchet in his belt, he hung his powder-horn beside the
hatchet, he put the patch-box and the bullet-pouch in his pocket, and he took his gun on his arm.
1. Connect and reflect on previous learning about using subjects and verbs. Revisit
Focused
previous EQ. Introduce the new EQ for today.
Instruction
2. Review original mentor sentence. Discuss number (singular) and tense (past).
EQ: Why
3. Why is thinking about number and tense important? Why does agreement matter?
does subject 4. Show a sentence you found in another text that is similar in some way to the Wilder
verb
sentences (Aim for one in 3rd person, singular, past tense). Discuss how it is similar
agreement
and different. Use EQ to discuss the subject-verb agreement.
matter?
5. Introduce your method for how students will share their findings (bulletin board,
signal, etc.)
6. Students revisit books they are familiar with or continue reading in an independent
Realtext. If they encounter a sentence similar to Wilder’s they should copy it, flag the
World
page, etc. Remind them to reflect on the agreement between the subject-verb.
Application
7. Provide time to “write under the influence” (in their own writing) or imitate the
mentor text or a sentence they collected.
8. Share some sentences that students found. Compare them to the Wilder text.
Reflective
Specifically discuss subject-verb agreement in terms of number and tense.
Closure
9. Highlight student work that applies subject-verb agreement in a unique way.
10. Revisit EQ for additional insight.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
6
Grades 3-5
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.e
2 (3rd p.)
3.a
3.b
3.c
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
Then Pa stuck his sharp
hatchet in his belt, he hung
his powder-horn beside the
hatchet, he put the patch-box
and the bullet-pouch in his
pocket, and he took his gun
on his arm.
Notice:
This sentence could become a great mentor for student
writers. It really shows how authors think about how
writing sounds. Do you hear the repetition? Ms. Wilder
knew how to tell a good story! Be sure to allow students
time to enjoy the sentence as a reader before diving into the
grammar particulars.
 The subjects and verbs are always next to each other.
Little House on the Prairie by  Authors use parallel structure for effect (i.e. he hung, he
Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935)
put, he took). A comma is used here as it is used to
pg. 41
separate items in a series.
 The dash is used to hyphenate words that function as a
pair (powder-horn, patch-box, bullet-pouch).




The pronoun “he” follows its antecedent “Pa”. They
agree on all counts.
Written in third-person narration and past tense, this
sentence illustrates how writers must maintain
consistency in person, gender and tense.
All verbs are irregular verbs “stuck, hung, put, took”.
Prepositional phrases are used to add additional
information. In this sentence each prepositional phrase
tells “where”.
Imitate:
 Imitate through descriptive narrative writing.
 Encourage students to imitate the parallel structure as
they use pronouns to replace the sentence’s subject.
 Imitate the use of hyphenated words.
 Imitate by slowing down a process step by step as
Wilder did in describing Pa going out hunting.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
7
Grades 3-5
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.b
1.c
1.d
2 (2nd p.)
3.a
3.b
3.c
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
Your skull is made up of
twenty-eight bones. Eight of
the bones fit together like
pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
They form a strong eggshell
shape that protects the brain.
Notice:
Informational texts are a great place to find examples of
writing in second-person. Here are some other things to
notice about this text:
 In the first and third sentences the subject and verb are
together. In the second sentence the collective noun
(eight) is separated from the verb (fit) by a prepositional
The Brain by Seymour Simon
phrase.
(1997)
 In the third sentence notice how the verb “protects”
matches it’s noun “shape”. While “shape” is not the
subject of the sentence it still needs to match its verb in
number.
 Eight is a collective noun. It is functioning in a plural
manner (i.e. as different bones fitting together) so it
needs a plural verb. The prepositional phrase helps us
understand this.
 The author uses a simile to compare the bones to pieces
of a puzzle.
Imitate:
 Write about something technical that you are
knowledgeable about. Write it in second-person.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
8
Grades 3-5
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.b
1.d
2 (3rd p.)
Mentor Sentences
“Caramels are only a fad.
Chocolate is a permanent
thing,” Hershey proclaimed.
Chocolate- Riches from the
Rainforest by Robert
Burleigh
Instructional Opportunities
Notice:
These two short sentences highlight singular and plural
subjects and make for something fun to imitate. Chocolate
could be argued to be a collective noun. Some other things
to notice:
 Use of quotations where the speaker tag follows what is
spoken.
 Simple sentences can be profound.
 The author is comparing two things.
 Linking verbs are used.
 Uncommon verb “proclaimed” is used in place of
“said” in the speaker tag.
Imitate:
 Encourage students to compare two things following the
same pattern of two short sentences.
 Try quoting someone where the speaker tag follows
what is spoken. Try using an uncommon verb.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
9
Grades 3-5
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.b
1.c
1.d
2 (1st p.)
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
Across the field, a group of
women are playing softball. I
ignore them and reach for my
book. I suddenly realize I’m
reading a comic where Calvin
leans against a tree with
Hobbes next to him in the
exact same position Bodi and
I are in. Weird.
Notice:
This text is fun to study! You might try revealing it
sentence by sentence rather than studying the whole all at
once. It’s written in first-person present tense and is
humorous. The narrator notices irony in the moment. You
may need to provide an example of a Calvin and Hobbes
cartoon in order to help students connect. Boys may
especially connect to this specific mentor text and the book
in general. Some other things to notice:
 “Group” is a collective noun (subject) and is separated
from its verb phrase (are playing) by a prepositional
phrase. In this case “group” is functioning in a plural
sense because the women are members of the group
acting individually.
 The second sentence contains a compound verb.
 The third sentence contains a relative adverb clause
beginning with “where…” for 4th graders to notice.
 The third sentence contains three examples of subjectverb agreement. Notice how the present tense is
maintained.
 The last sentence is one word. Example of
unconventional English for effect.
My Life as a Book, by Janet
Tashjian (2010). Pg. 130
Imitate:
 Have students imitate parts of this text. It might be too
much to try and imitate the whole.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
10
Grades 3-5
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.d
1.e
2 (3rd p.)
3.a
3.b
3.c
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
When the plane had come and
gone it had put him down,
gutted him and dropped him
and left him with nothing.
Notice:
This sentence is especially good for 4th grade because it
contains a relative adverb clause-“when the plane had come
and gone”. The fact that it comes at the beginning of the
sentence can make finding the subject difficult. Here is a
great sentence to really have students stop and think about
“who or what is the whole sentence about?” For 5th grade, it
includes the past perfect tense (had put, had gutted, had
dropped). Other things to notice:
 Subject comes in the middle of the sentence after an
adverb clause
 Pronoun-antecedent agreement between “the plane” and
“it”- the subject.
 Compound verb- we know this because all the verbs
have to do with the plane. “had
put…gutted…dropped…left” Also notice how they all
maintain the same form- past tense.
 Another example of parallel structure for effect, “had
put him down, gutted him and dropped him and left him
with nothing.”
 Even within the adverb clause there is subject-verb
agreement, and the verb is compound, “When the plane
had come and gone..”
 It is in third-person past tense.
 The use of personification: “put him down, gutted him
and dropped him”.
 The use of the past perfect verb tense allows Paulsen to
describe an action that was completed prior to
something else in the past.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
(1987). Pg. 122
Imitate:
 Invite students to imitate this sentence by writing a
sentence that begins with a relative adverb clause.
 Imitate this sentence by using parallel structure and by
using a perfect verb tense.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
11
Grades 6-8
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.b
1.d
1.e
2 (1st p.)
3.a
3.b
3.c
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
My grandfather’s a big man
with a meaty nose and
greased-back salt-and-pepper
hair. He lives in house
slippers and a sports car, and
I’ve never seen a whisker on
him. They grow, but he
shaves them off like three
times a day. It’s a real
recreational activity for him.
Notice:
These few sentences are a great way to begin studying
subject-verb agreement because they are worthy of
imitating in real-world writing. If we want kids to find close
reading necessary, we must give them text worthy of the
task. This one fits the bill! You really want kids to notice
the descriptive writing and humor before they dig into the
mechanics.
 The contractions merge the subject-verb in each case
(grandfather’s, I’ve seen, It’s).
 In compound sentences sentences you will always find
at least two sets of subjects-verbs (2nd and 3rd
sentences).
 Interesting pronoun-antecedent agreement between
“whisker” and “they”. Great place to talk about why it
works even though they don’t agree in number.
 The author’s use of “him”- both cases are third-person
singular objects of prepositions (objective case
pronoun).
 The author’s use of “them” is a third-person plural
direct object (objective case pronoun).
 The author’s use of the hyphen indicating words that are
joined together resulting in singular meaning (greasedback, salt-and-pepper).
 The second and third sentences are compound sentences
with a coordinating conjunction (and, but) requiring a
comma.
 In the last sentence the pronoun “it” is referring to the
grandfather’s shaving of whiskers.
 The word “never” interrupts the verb phrase in the
second sentence. It is an adverb, not part of the verb
phrase.
Flipped by Wendelin Van
Draanen (2001). pg. 26
Imitate:
 Imitate by describing someone or something you know.
Follow the sentence patterns and subject-verb, pronounantecedent style.
 Simplify this by imitating one or two sentences only,
rather than all four.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
12
Grades 6-8
Targeted
Understandings
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
1.a
1.b
1.c
1.e
2. (3rd p.)
3.a
3.b
3.c
One species of tarantula even
holds hands at dinnermother and all her
spiderlings. They feed while
touching one another’s tarsi,
often in a circle around their
shared prey.
Notice:
These two sentences are great mentors for writing
informational text. They paint an interesting picture!
Beyond the interesting content lies a structure worth
studying and imitating.
 “Species” is a collective noun. In this sentence it is
functioning as a singular noun. We know this because
“one” precedes it; it gets a singular verb- “holds”.
 The subject and verb are separated by a prepositional
phrase and an adverb.
 “Mother and all her spiderlings” is set off as a nonrestrictive element with a dash. Good opportunity to
discuss why the author used a dash rather than a
comma.
 In the second sentence “they” is a pronoun with the
antecedent, “mother and all her spiderlings”.
 “They” is plural and requires a plural verb- feed.
 In the second sentence there is a participle phrase
(verbal) “touching one another’s tarsi”. (L.7.1a, L.8.1a)
 The author uses a comma to set off “often in a circle
around their shared prey”. The comma placement
encourages a pause in the reading. (L.6.2a, L.8.2a)
 Good use of science vocabulary (spiderlings, tarsi).
 Third-person, present tense.
“Tarantula Heaven” by Sy
Montgomery in Guys Read:
True Stories edited by Jon
Scieszka pg. 40
Imitate:
 Encourage students to use a collective noun while
imitating these sentences.
 Invite students to experiment with a non-restrictive
element in their writing.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
13
Grades 6-8
Targeted
Understandings
1.a
1.d
2 (3rd p.)
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
One of the reasons why
Tom’s mind had drifted away
from its secret troubles was
that it had found a new and
weighty matter to interest
itself about.
Notice:
Mark Twain can craft a sentence! Before noticing the
grammar particulars, be sure to take in the “weightiness” of
this sentence and its meaning.
The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer by Mark Twain
(1876) pg. 57








An indefinite pronoun (one) begins the sentence. It is
singular and requires a singular verb (was).
Notice the physical space between the subject and verb.
It is easy to lose track of the subject and accidentally
use a plural verb because “troubles” precedes the verb.
The pronoun “it” is in agreement with its antecedent
“Tom’s mind”.
Written in third-person, past perfect tense (had drifted,
had found).
It is a complex sentence, as it contains an independent
and dependent clause. (Does everyone agree??)
The adjective clause, “why Tom’s mind had drifted
away from its secret troubles” adds important
contextual information. “Why” is a relative adverb, but
the phrase as a whole modifies the noun, “reasons”.
The reflexive pronoun “itself” is in agreement with
“Tom’s mind”.
The second adjective clause, “that it had found a new
and weighty matter to interest itself about”, is essential
to the sentence because it gives meaning to the subject
of the sentence. It also contains a subject and verb in
agreement.
Imitate:
 Invite students to imitate one thing they notice, such a
prepositional phrase and an adjective clause separating
the subject and verb in a sentence.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
14
Grades 6-8
Targeted
Understandings
1.b
1.d
1.e
2 (3rd p.)
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
The shutters and doors of the
Radley house were closed on
Sundays, another thing alien
to Maycomb’s ways: closed
doors meant illness and cold
weather only.
Notice:
This is a great compound-complex sentence that really
draws a reader in. We all want to know what goes on in
Boo Radley’s house! Harper Lee is pointing out something
unusual about the Radley house in contrast to the other
homes in Maycolm.
To Kill a Mockingbird by
Harper Lee (1960) pg. 11



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
The subject is compound (shutters and doors), requiring
a plural verb (were).
The subject and verb are separated by a prepositional
phrase which ends in a singular noun (house), making it
tempting to use “was” as the verb.
The first part of the sentence contains an independent
and dependent clause (“another thing alien to
Maycomb’s ways”). The dependent clause functions to
further describe the closed shutters and doors of the
Radley house.
The word “alien” and “meant” are both linking verbs
because they refer to a state of being.
The author chose to use a colon to separate the
compound sentence. A colon used in this way signals
that something is about to be restated or explained.
Imitate:
 Invite students to write a descriptive sentence pointing
out something unusual that they notice. Follow Lee’s
sentence structure.
 Encourage students to write a sentence where the
subject and verb are separated by a prepositional phrase.
 Write a sentence that follows Lee’s style of using a
colon followed by an independent clause that restates or
explains something.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
15
Grades 6-8
Targeted
Understandings
Mentor Sentences
Instructional Opportunities
1.b
2. (3rd p.)
3.a
3.b
"They who can give up
essential liberty to purchase a
little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor
safety." -- Ben Franklin, 1755
Notice:
Ben was one smart guy! Be sure to let students ponder the
magnitude of this sentence. It may be worth doing some
research as to the context. There are various versions of this
floating around due to its repeated use over the course of
history.
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While “they” is rarely used as an indefinite pronoun, it
is here. It is plural and requires a plural verb “deserve”.
The adjective clause “who can give up essential liberty”
serves to modify the subject “they”.
This is a complex sentence with a dependent clause
separating the subject and verb in this sentence.
The phrase “to purchase a little temporary safety” is an
infinitive phrase (verbal) functioning as an adverb
because it describes why someone would “give up”.
The coordinate conjunctions “neither/nor” are used to
show that “liberty” and “safety” are of equal
importance.
Imitate:
 Invite students to imitate this sentence by separating the
subject and verb with a dependent clause.
 Encourage students to imitate this sentence with
something applicable to today’s political landscape.
For suggestions on how to Collect, Edit and Write please
see the Grammar Introduction section.
© Growing Strong Teachers, Inc. 2015
16