Subject- Verb Agreement

Stephanie Paige-Hubbard
Bell work
• Choose the sentence that is written
with the correct subject- verb
agreement.
• A. Everything on the racks were on sale.
• B. Neither the radio nor the television are
working.
• C. A few of the nails in the can are rusted.
• D. Your term paper on the importance of
insects were very interesting.
 Subject Verb Agreement

• Most important facts to remember about Subject

-Verb Agreement & Pronoun- Antecedent
Agreement are:
• 1. Subject and verb MUST AGREE IN NUMBER.
• 2. Pronoun and antecedent MUST AGREE IN
NUMBER AND GENDER.
• Key Terms. Write down the meaning
of each of the key terms and provide
an example of each.
• Subject-
• Verb-
• Pronoun-
• Antecedent-
• Singular-
• Plural-
 • A verb should agree in number with its subject.
• A singular subject MUST HAVE a singular verb.
A singular verb will end in -s.
• YOU MUST FIND THE SIMPLE SUBJECT FIRST,
THEN FIND YOUR VERB.
Examples:
• He washes the dishes.
• A girl in my neighborhood plays in the band.
• Our princess dances every night.
 • A plural subject MUST HAVE a plural
verb. A plural verb will not end in –s
Examples:
• The twelve princesses dance every
night.
• They will wash the dishes.
• The girls in my neighborhood were
playing in the band.
Practice 1: Now let’s practice by
circling the correct verb to agree with
the subject.

• 1. The children (walks/ walk) to the

playground every afternoon.
• 2. My friend (gives/give) me his potato chips
at lunch.
• 3. She always (sings/sing) that song.
• 4. He (takes/ take) pride in his work.
• 5. Gregory (fishes/ fish) for bass in the lake.
• 6. We (is/are) tired and hungry.
• BE CAREFUL- Do not confuse the object
of preposition as the subject! The subject
of a sentence will NEVER be found in a
prepositional phrase.
Example:
• One of my friends is going.
 Practice 2: Circle the correct
verb, and mark out the
prepositional phrase.
• 1. The tiles in the corner (is/are) broken.
• 2. Which type of pens (was/were) your
favorite?
• 3. The letters from Cale (has/ have) been found
in the drawer.
• 4. The forks in the drawer (was/ were) bent?
• 5. My interest in crafts (keeps/keep) me busy.
• 6. Two colors of the flag (has/ have) been
changed.
 BE CAREFUL- The subject does NOT
always come at the beginning of the
sentence. Sometimes the subject follows
the verb.
1. A phrase may come at the beginning of the sentence.
Example:
Behind the door was a prize.
2. With questions, the verb, or part of it, can come before the subject.
Example:
Does Rose go to camp? (____________________)
Do her sisters go to camp. (___________________)
3. If a sentence begins with there or here, the subject will come after the
verb.
Example:
Here comes the parade. (_____________________)
There go the floats. (__________________________)
 Practice 3: Underline the subject
and the circle the correct verb.

• 1. There (was/were) ten gifts left.

• 2. Down in the forest (was/were) two
rope swings.
• 3. Why (was/were) the young girl still on
the bus?
• 4. Here (comes/come) the band leader.
• 5. (Does/Do) those men have shelter?
 Compound subjects & Subject-verb
agreement

• Compound subject- two or more subjects

joined by and, or, nor
• Subjects- joined by and usually take
plural verbs
• Subjects joined by or, nor take either a
singular or a plural verb determined by
the subject closest verbs.
 Compound subjects & Subject-
verb agreement

Rule 1: Subjects joined by _________ are usually plural and

take plural verbs.
Example: My friend and I are going.
Rule 2: When subjects are joined by___________ or
___________, the subject closer to the verb determines
whether the verb is singular or plural.
Example:
Either the teacher or the student is responsible.
Neither the teacher nor the students are
responsible.
Practice 4: Circle the correct verb
according to which conjunction is
joining the two subjects.
• 1. James and his brother (is/are) leaving now.
• 2. Neither the soldiers nor their general
(was/were) given credit for the victory.
• 3. Kisha and her friends (was/were)
volunteering at the hospital.
• 4. Either he or his dogs (was/were)
responsible for the mess.
• 5. For their project, Tiffany and Justin (is/are)
making a model volcano.
 Collective Nouns and Subject-
Verb Agreement!!

• Collective Nouns are nouns that appear singular,

but they may represent a group.

Collective Nouns
Army Class Crowd Flock Mob
Audience Club Faculty Group Public
Band Collection Family Herd Swarm
Bunch Committee Fleet Jury Team
Collective Nouns
• In some cases, a collective noun may refer to the
individual members of a group in which cases it takes
a plural verb.
• Note: In most cases, collective nouns will be treated
as singular. To double-check, ask yourself if the noun
is referring to the group as a whole or if it refers to
the individual member.
Collective Nouns
Directions: Read each sentence carefully and circle
the correct verb.

• The rugby team (practice/practices) three times a

week.
• The soccer team (practice/practices) their skills
individually when they meet with the coach one-on-
one.
• The class (contribute/contributes) different amounts
depending on how much candy they sell.
• My class (is/are) the largest in the school.
• The fleet of ships (is/are) stationed in the gulf.