Subject Verb Agreement Stephanie PaigeHubbard Bell work Choose

Subject- Verb Agreement Stephanie Paige-Hubbard

Bell work • Choose the sentence that is written with the correct subject- verb agreement. • A. Everything on the racks were on sale. • B. Neither the radio nor the television are working. • C. A few of the nails in the can are rusted. • D. Your term paper on the importance of insects were very interesting.

Subject Verb Agreement • Most important facts to remember about Subject -Verb Agreement & Pronoun. Antecedent Agreement are: • 1. Subject and verb MUST AGREE IN NUMBER. • 2. Pronoun and antecedent MUST AGREE IN NUMBER AND GENDER.

• Key Terms. Write down the meaning of each of the key terms and provide an example of each. • Subject • Verb • Pronoun • Antecedent • Singular • Plural-

• A verb should agree in number with its subject. • A singular subject MUST HAVE a singular verb. A singular verb will end in -s. • YOU MUST FIND THE SIMPLE SUBJECT FIRST, THEN FIND YOUR VERB. Examples: • He washes the dishes. • A girl in my neighborhood plays in the band. • Our princess dances every night.

• A plural subject MUST HAVE a plural verb. A plural verb will not end in –s Examples: • The twelve princesses dance every night. • They will wash the dishes. • The girls in my neighborhood were playing in the band.

Practice 1: Now let’s practice by circling the correct verb to agree with the subject. • 1. The children (walks/ walk) to the playground every afternoon. • 2. My friend (gives/give) me his potato chips at lunch. • 3. She always (sings/sing) that song. • 4. He (takes/ take) pride in his work. • 5. Gregory (fishes/ fish) for bass in the lake. • 6. We (is/are) tired and hungry.

• BE CAREFUL- Do not confuse the object of preposition as the subject! The subject of a sentence will NEVER be found in a prepositional phrase. Example: • One of my friends is going.

Practice 2: Circle the correct verb, and mark out the prepositional phrase. • 1. The tiles in the corner (is/are) broken. • 2. Which type of pens (was/were) your favorite? • 3. The letters from Cale (has/ have) been found in the drawer. • 4. The forks in the drawer (was/ were) bent? • 5. My interest in crafts (keeps/keep) me busy. • 6. Two colors of the flag (has/ have) been changed.

BE CAREFUL- The subject does NOT always come at the beginning of the sentence. Sometimes the subject follows the verb. 1. A phrase may come at the beginning of the sentence. Example: Behind the door was a prize. 2. With questions, the verb, or part of it, can come before the subject. Example: Does Rose go to camp? (__________) Do her sisters go to camp. (__________) 3. If a sentence begins with there or here, the subject will come after the verb. Example: Here comes the parade. (___________) There go the floats. (_____________)

Practice 3: Underline the subject and the circle the correct verb. • 1. There (was/were) ten gifts left. • 2. Down in the forest (was/were) two rope swings. • 3. Why (was/were) the young girl still on the bus? • 4. Here (comes/come) the band leader. • 5. (Does/Do) those men have shelter?

Compound subjects & Subject-verb agreement • Compound subject- two or more subjects joined by and, or, nor • Subjects- joined by and usually take plural verbs • Subjects joined by or, nor take either a singular or a plural verb determined by the subject closest verbs.

Compound subjects & Subjectverb agreement Rule 1: Subjects joined by _____ are usually plural and take plural verbs. Example: My friend and I are going. Rule 2: When subjects are joined by______ or ______, the subject closer to the verb determines whether the verb is singular or plural. Example: Either the teacher or the student is responsible. Neither the teacher nor the students are responsible.

Practice 4: Circle the correct verb according to which conjunction is joining the two subjects. • 1. James and his brother (is/are) leaving now. • 2. Neither the soldiers nor their general (was/were) given credit for the victory. • 3. Kisha and her friends (was/were) volunteering at the hospital. • 4. Either he or his dogs (was/were) responsible for the mess. • 5. For their project, Tiffany and Justin (is/are) making a model volcano.

Collective Nouns and Subject-Verb Agreement!! • Collective Nouns are nouns that appear singular, but they may represent a group. Collective Nouns Army Class Crowd Flock Mob Audience Club Faculty Group Public Band Collection Family Herd Swarm Bunch Committee Fleet Jury Team

Collective Nouns • In some cases, a collective noun may refer to the individual members of a group in which cases it takes a plural verb. • Note: In most cases, collective nouns will be treated as singular. To double-check, ask yourself if the noun is referring to the group as a whole or if it refers to the individual member.

Collective Nouns Directions: Read each sentence carefully and circle the correct verb. • The rugby team (practice/practices) three times a week. • The soccer team (practice/practices) their skills individually when they meet with the coach one-on-one. • The class (contribute/contributes) different amounts depending on how much candy they sell. • My class (is/are) the largest in the school. • The fleet of ships (is/are) stationed in the gulf.