Subject-Verb Agreement We agree

Subject-Verb Agreement 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

Subject-Verb Agreement Examples: The twelve princesses dance every night. One princess dances every night. NOTE: Even though the pronoun YOU can be singular, it always takes a plural verb. I also takes the plural action verb. You sit in that seat every day. You find your seats by number.

Take out Prepositional Phrases Don’t confuse the object of the preposition as the subject! The subject of the sentence will NEVER be found in a prepositional phrase. Take out all of the prepositional phrases and extra words so that you only have the subject and verb showing. One of my friends is going. One is going. The subject is ONE, not FRIENDS. One is singular, so you choose IS GOING, not ARE GOING.

A phrase may come at the beginning of the sentence. Watch the Subject! The subject does NOT always come at the beginning of the sentence. Sometime the subject follows the verb. A phrase may come at the beginning of the sentence. Behind the door was a prize. Turn the sentence around to say: A prize was behind the door. prize – singular needs a singular verb – was

Questions With questions, the verb, or part of it, can come before the subject. Does Rose go to camp? (Rose does go to camp) – Turn it around. Rose – singular Go – singular verb (no s) Do her sisters go to camp? (Her sisters do go to camp.) Turn it around. Sisters – plural Do go – plural verb (no s)

Comes – singular (with s) There and Here If a sentence begins with THERE or HERE, the subject will come after the verb. Here comes the parade. Parade – singular Comes – singular (with s) There go the floats. Floats – plural Go – plural verb (no s)

My friend and I are going. Compound subjects Subjects joined by AND are usually plural and take plural verbs. (Exceptions are rare.) My friend and I are going. Friend AND I are 2 people, so they are plural and take a plural verb, are.

Compound Subjects When subjects are joined by OR or NOR, the subject closer to the verb determines which verb to use. Since STUDENT is singular, you need the singular, IS. Either the teacher or the student is responsible. Student is closer to the verb than teacher, so it determines which verb to use. Since STUDENT is singular, you need the singular IS. Neither the teacher nor the students are responsible. In this sentence, STUDENTS is closer to the verb and is plural, so you need to use the plural verb ARE. Either the students or the teacher is responsible. Now, TEACHER is closer to the verb. Since TEACHER is singular, use the singular verb IS.

Practice There (was/were) ten gifts left. James and his brother (is/are) leaving now. Either he or his dogs (was/were) responsible for the mess. The cats and her kitten (has/have) brown spots. The watermelons (was/were) sitting in the truck bed. The letters from Robert (has/have) been found in the drawer. Down in the forest (was/were) two rope swings. Neither the soldiers nor their general (was/were) given credit for the victory. Here (is/are) your homework study guide. In the drawer (is/are) the cookie cutters. There (is/are) a few questions still unclear. Both the time and the effort (was/were) wasted. The forks in the drawer (was/were) dirty. Neither the coach nor the players (was/were) giving interviews.