SubjectVerb Agreement Singular with Singular Plural with Plural

Subject-Verb Agreement Singular with Singular Plural with Plural Time 4 Writing provides these teachers materials to teachers and parents at no cost. More presentations, handouts, interactive online exercises, and video lessons are freely available at Time 4 Writing. com. Consider linking to these resources from your school, teacher, or homeschool educational site. The rules: These materials must maintain the visibility of the Time 4 Writing trademark and copyright information. They can be copied and used for educational purposes. They are not for resale. Want to give us feedback? We'd like to hear your views: info@time 4 writing. com Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

A Reminder about Subjects and Predicates 1. Subject - the person or thing that the sentence is about - it can be a noun or pronoun 2. Predicate - the action in the sentence - it can be a verb or verb phrase Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Sample Sentence: "She walked the dog. " What is the subject? Ask yourself, who is doing the action? That is the subject. So in this case, "She" is the subject. What is the predicate? Ask yourself, what is happening, what is the action? Walking the dog! so the phrase "walked the dog" is the predicate and "walked" is the verb • • Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Singular and Plural Subjects • Singular Subjects have only one person or one thing • Plural Subjects must have two or more persons or two or more things Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Always pair singular subjects with singular verbs When you have only one person or thing doing the action, the verb should be singular too. Incorrect: Susan swim in the pool. Correct: Susan swims in the pool. So far, this is pretty straightforward, right? Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Always pair plural subjects with plural verbs When you have more than one person or thing doing the action, the verb should be plural too. Incorrect: Max and Sara walks to the park. Correct: Max and Sara walk to the park. Still pretty straightforward, right? Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

Here's where it can get tricky! Some nouns refer to a group containing more than one person or thing. These are called collective nouns. Examples are "the class" or "the family" or "the team" -- since those words are singular, they take singular verbs. Incorrect: Everybody are here. Correct: Everybody is here. Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

The opposite can be tricky too! Sometimes two or more nouns are used to refer to a single thing. Incorrect: Peanut butter and jelly are my favorite sandwich. Correct: Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich. Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

When Words Get in the Way • Sometimes a subject is singular, but words modifying it are plural. • When those words come between the subject and verb, it's easy to use a plural verb by mistake. Incorrect: One of the 6 th grade students who brought their permission slips are absent. Correct: One of the 6 th grade students who brought their permission slips is absent. Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012

The end. More free WRITING MECHANICS resources: parts of speech capitalization punctuation homophones, homonyms, homographs • • Eight-week WRITING MECHANICS courses: elementary school middle school high school • • • Copyright 2012 www. time 4 writing. com/free-writing-resources Copyright 2012