Subject-Verb Agreement
Why is it important that subjects and
verbs agree in sentences?
Basics about Subject-Verb Agreement
• The subject and the main verb in a sentence
must match in number.
• Singular subjects have singular verbs.
• Plural subjects have plural verbs.
Singular (one)
• Our baby sleeps more than 10 hours a day.
– There is one baby
– The verb “to sleep” changes to “sleeps” when
paired with one baby.
Pronoun
To sleep
I
Sleep
You
Sleep
She/He/It - Singular
Sleeps
We
Sleep
They – Plural
Sleep
Past Tense
Slept
Plural (more than one)
• Some babies sleep even longer.
– There are multiple babies in this sentence.
– The verb “to sleep” becomes just “sleep” when
paired with multiple babies.
Pronoun
To sleep
I
Sleep
You
Sleep
She/He/It - Singular
Sleeps
We
Sleep
They – Plural , babies
Sleep
Past Tense
Slept
Words between the Subject and Verb
• Sometimes prepositional phrases come between
the subject and verb.
• A prepositional phrase is a group of words that
begins with a preposition and ends in a noun.
• Common prepositions: about, after, at, before,
betweenby, during, for, from, in, into, like, of, on,
outside, over, through, to, toward, with, without,
under, above
• The verb should agree with the subject NOT the
noun in a prepositional phrase.
Examples of SV Agreement with
Prepositional Phrases
• A small bag of potato chips contains 440
calories.
– A small bag of potato chips contains 440 calories.
• The tomatoes in this salad are brown and
mushy.
– The tomatoes in this salad are brown and mushy.
• Books about baseball fill my son’s room.
– Books about baseball fill my son’s room.
Compound Subjects
• A compound subject is made up of two nouns
connected by a joining word.
• Subjects joined by AND take a PLURAL verb, or
the verb that matches with they.
• The plural form of a regular verb has NO “s” at
the end.
Examples of Compound Subjects
• Running and lifting weights are good ways to
keep in shape.
– Running and lifting weights are good ways to keep
in shape.
• Fear and ignorance have a lot to do with
hatred.
– Fear and ignorance have a lot to do with hatred.
To have
To Be
He/She/It - Singular has
is
They – Plural ,
compound
are
have
Check Your Understanding
Sentence
Mistake in SV
Agreement?
1. The students in Teron’s class is very young.
YES, are
2. These boys and girls attends the school’s prekindergarten class.
YES, attend
3. Most of them can’t read yet.
NO
4. But Teron and their other teachers reads to them every day.
YES, read
5. Being read to is one way children learn to read themselves.
NO
6. The boy on Teron’s right love to read about insects.
YES, loves
7. Beetles and mosquitoes doesn’t bother him!
YES, don’t bother
8. He thinks that some someday he might like to be a scientist who
studies bugs.
NO
Practice 1, part 1
• Complete Practice 1 with a partner. Then you will
check your answers with your teacher.
• Recess time!
• Reading and writing are important parts of the
school day.
• But games on the playground are, too.
• The little kids in Teron’s class love racing around
on these scooter-boards.
• The exercise and fresh air benefits their bodies
and minds.
Practice 1, part 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
It’s time to head back into class.
The smiles on the kids’ faces make Teron feel good.
They remind him of why he is a teacher.
Teron grew up in a poor neighborhood without his father
around.
Drugs and crime were everywhere he looked.
The teachers in his own life were very important to him.
They let him know they believed he could succeed in life.
Adult support and encouragement make a big difference in
the life of a child.
Teron wants to provide that kind of support to the children
he teaches.
Practice 1, Part 3
• Boys and girls learn how to be adults from
observing grownups around them.
• Teron saw lots of negative role models, such
as drug dealers, as he was growing up.
• But he focused on the positive people in his
life.
• He hopes the kids in his class do the same
thing.
Practice 2, Complete independently
• When complete, you will check your answers
with your teacher.
Practice 2 Answers
1. Taste – compound subject
2. Wear – plural subject
3. Have – compound subject
4. Speak – plural subject
5. See – compound subject
6. Surround – compound subject
7. Are – plural subject
8. Sleep – compound subject
9. Live – compound subject
10. Do – plural subject