SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Agreement in Number A verb must agree with its subject in number. Number refers to whether a word is singular, naming one, or plural, naming more than one.

Plurals in English Grammar To make a noun plural, we add –s Singular: girl Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take away the –s. Singular: he talks Plural: they talk

S and S A singular subject takes a ____singular_ verb. Examples: S & S (Singular subject and -S at the end of present tense verb) The bird sings a sweet song while on the branch. The desk is broken.

Singular Subject (S) -S on verb The girl dances.

Plural Subject ------ No -S A plural subject takes a __plural _ verb. Examples: P and S do not belong together (Plural subject and NO –S at the end of verb) Those posters announce garage sales. Five desks are broken in my classroom.

Plural subject The girls dance. No –S on verb

I and You “I” and “you” follow the plural rule. No –s at the end of the verb. Example: I am hot with this scarf on.   Example: You walk the dog this afternoon.

Watch the Verb Endings! Singular Plural I walk You walk He/She/It walk s Joe walk s The girl walk s Plural We walk You walk They walk Joe and Maria walk The girls walk

S and S (Singular Subject & - S on Present Tense Verb) 1. The gym teacher want to find hockey equipment at a yard sale. 2. At a garage sale, the best thing are the prices. 3. Most players bounces the ball on the court.

Verb Phrase In a sentence with a verb phrase, the first helping verb must verb must agree with the subject. Example: The neighbors have been joining in an annual sale.

Verb Phrase Practice First find the subject. Is it singular or plural Verb Phrase Practice First find the subject. Is it singular or plural? What is the verb phrase? 1. The cats was watching the birds outside the window. 2. They was asking questions about my friend. 3. Marie has found a dollar bill on the sidewalk.

Contractions Don’t = Do not Doesn’t = Does not Use with a plural subject (no –s) Doesn’t = Does not Use with a singular subject (has an –s)

Contraction Practice Find the subject first (who or what Contraction Practice Find the subject first (who or what?) Is it singular or plural? 1. (Don’t, Doesn’t) Harry want to go bike riding with us? 2. (Don’t, Doesn’t) you like to receive flowers for a special occasion? 3. (Don’t Doesn’t) they like participating with a partner in class?

Remember there are irregular verbs: DO Singular Plural He does They do HAVE She has They have BE He is They are She was They were

Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in –S, the verb will. If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.

Multiple subjects joined by “and” If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an “s”. Example The boy and the girl dance. (= They dance.) No –S on verb

Multiple subjects joined by “or” If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agrees with the part of the subject closest to it. Examples: The professor or the students walk the halls. The students or the professor walks the halls.

Either the still photos or the video shows the lion’s mane. Neither the spider nor the centipede is an insect.

Phrases between Subject and Verb Many errors in subject-verb agreement occur when a prepositional phrase falls between the subject and verb. The subject of a verb is never part of a prepositional phrase. Mentally block out any words between the subject and verb. Make the verb agree with the subject.

Prepositional Phrases This photo of trees and flowers wins first place. The trees in the photo are stately.

Indefinite Pronouns Some indefinite pronouns are always singular. Here are some examples: anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody Others can be either singular or plural (all, some) Everybody loves grammar! Some people love grammar.

Relative Pronouns Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be either singular or plural, depending on the word they refer to. The student who works hard will succeed. The students who work hard will succeed.

Helpful hints Sometimes, several words come between the subject and the verb. Just take out the phrase in the middle to see whether or not the subject and verb agree. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy. The student finds her new class easy.

Prepositional phrases The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase. Example The students in my class study / studies hard. X

In the sentences below, do the subjects & verbs agree? They goes to the gym after class to work out. Harry and his friends wants to see the new movie coming out this weekend. The cat who is meowing at my door wants in. Neither the cat nor the dogs likes the new food. The mayor as well as his brothers are going to jail. Nobody wants to dance. The paper or the ruler are in the desk.