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ELA
Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement
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Subject-verb agreement means the subject of a sentence and its verb must match in number. A singular subject needs a singular verb, and a plural subject needs a plural verb. This matters because agreement helps sentences sound clear, correct, and easy to understand. When the subject and verb do not match, the sentence can feel confusing or unfinished.
Key Facts
- Singular subject + singular verb: The dog runs.
- Plural subject + plural verb: The dogs run.
- In the present tense, most singular verbs add s or es: he walks, she watches.
- Do not let words between the subject and verb change agreement: The box of pencils is on the desk.
- Compound subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb: Mia and Leo are ready.
- Subjects joined by or or nor agree with the subject closest to the verb: Either the teacher or the students are speaking.
Vocabulary
- Subject
- The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about.
- Verb
- A verb is a word that shows an action, state of being, or condition.
- Agreement
- Agreement means that related words in a sentence match in number or form.
- Singular
- Singular means one person, place, thing, or idea.
- Plural
- Plural means more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Matching the verb to a nearby noun instead of the subject. In The bouquet of flowers is pretty, the subject is bouquet, not flowers.
- Forgetting that singular present-tense verbs often end in s. He play is wrong because he plays is the correct singular form.
- Treating a compound subject joined by and as singular. Sam and Ava is late is wrong because two subjects joined by and usually need are.
- Ignoring the closest subject when using or or nor. Either the players or the coach is speaking is correct because coach is singular and closest to the verb.
Practice Questions
- 1 Choose the correct verb in each of these 5 sentences: 1. The cat jump/jumps. 2. The students write/writes. 3. My brother and sister is/are here. 4. The list of rules is/are long. 5. Either the dogs or the bird make/makes noise.
- 2 Write 6 sentences: 3 with singular subjects and 3 with plural subjects. Underline each subject once and each verb twice.
- 3 Explain why this sentence is incorrect, then fix it: The group of dancers are practicing after school.