SUBJECTVERB AGREEMENT Back to the Basics WHILE THIS

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT Back to the Basics

WHILE THIS IS ADORABLE… It is wrong!

WHAT IS A SUBJECT? The subject of a sentence tells who or what the sentence is about. Example: The woman with the green hat ate lunch. Three pelicans flew over the beach. The children built a sandcastle. Ben played chess with Alex. After the game, the football team went to Mc. Donalds for dinner.

WHAT IS A PREDICATE? The predicate of a sentence tells what the subject does or is. It is sometimes called the verb. Example: The woman with the green hat ate lunch. Three pelicans flew over the beach. The children built a sandcastle. Ben played chess with Alex. After the game, the football team went to Mc. Donalds for dinner.

WHAT ABOUT AUXILIARY/HELPING/LINKING VERBS? Well, they all mean pretty much the same thing. A verb that determines the mood, tense, or aspect of another verb in a verb phrase. Auxiliary verbs always precede main verbs within a verb phrase. Commonly Used Auxiliary Verbs Am, Is, Are, Was, Were Be, Being , Been Do(ing), Does, Did Should Can, Could May, Might, Must Ought Will, Would Have(ing), Has, Had Shall,

AUXILIARY PRACTICE 1. I have to get up early on Sundays. 2. You must not play with fire. 3. In my job I have to travel a lot. 4. Don’t lend her your car. She will crash it. 5. Do you have to work on Sundays? 6. I don’t have to work this afternoon. 7. You must hurry up if you don’t want to miss the train.

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION? A preposition is a word that shows a relationship between its object and some other word in the sentence. Every preposition must have an object to complete the phrase. The object will be either a noun or a pronoun. If there is no object, the word in question is not a preposition or is used improper. Here is a list! Study it because you have a quiz on them on September 7 th!

SOMETIMES, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE… So we remove prepositional phrases!

LETS PRACTICE! There on the sidewalk waits the photographer. Many in the class near Mr. Thompson is hearing his lecture. The scientist interested in insects has discovered hundreds of species. Students of the rain forest are alarmed at its rate of destruction.

Step 1: Take out the trash Step 2: Underline the subject once and the verb twice LETS PRACTICE AGAIN! Step 3: Write “yes” if the subject and verb agree or “no” if it does not. _____ 1. Fossils is fascinating records of the past. _____ 2. They tell us about plants and animals of long ago. _____ 3. Some ancient animals, such as dinosaurs, were huge. _____ 4. skeleton. A dinosaur fossil preserve a tooth, a bone, or even a major part of the _____ 5. Fossil hunters has found dinosaurs remains around the world.

Step 1: Take out the trash Step 2: Underline the subject once and the verb twice LETS PRACTICE AGAIN! Step 3: Write “yes” if the subject and verb agree or “no” if it does not. _____ 6. Dinosaurs were fixed in time in a number of ways. _____ 7. Some was frozen in glaciers. _____ 8. Such a dinosaur is like frozen food in your freezer. _____ 9. Other dinosaurs was caught in tar pits and preserved there. _____10. Fossil evidence show that many dinosaurs died in a short period of time.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT RULES 1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the concept. The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are angry. 2. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement. The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good. 3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement. The colors of the rainbow are beautiful. 4. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use. Does Lefty usually eat grass? Where are the pieces of this puzzle. 5. Remember, only the subject affects the verb!