SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT
(In the PRESENT tense—what’s happening NOW, not in the past or
future)
Subjects—who/what the sentence is about
Verbs —what subject does; action in sentence
 Subjects and verbs MUST ALWAYS agree (in number)
 Verbs must agree with subject since subjects usually come first in sentences.
 If the SUBJECT is singular (only ONE), the verb must be singular (only
ONE).
 If the SUBJECT is plural (more than one), the verb must be plural (more than
one).
CAN VERBS BE PLURAL? …YES!
 CONCEPT…Making verbs plural is the OPPOSITE of making nouns
singular!
B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N—THINK:
In MOST cases, when you make nouns plural, you ADD an “s,” “es,” or drop the
y and add “ies”! What’s the opposite? …NOT ADDING an “s,” “es,” or
dropping the y and adding “ies”!
 Therefore, NOT ADDING an “s,” “es,” or dropping the y and add “ies” to
VERBS makes them plural! Thus, adding an “s,” “es,” and *dropping the y
and adding “ies” makes the verb SINGULAR!
Examples of Singular/Plural VERBS:
Base Form
Singular
Plural
dance
encourage
captivate
identify
dances
encourages
captivates
*identifies
dance
encourage
captivate
identify
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Stop-AND-Think: What do you notice about the base and plural forms of
verbs?
____________________________________________________________
FYI:
Base/Singular Form
Plural Form
is
are
was (*past tense)
were (*past tense)
has
have
does
do
goes
go
Examples of Use:
 Aunt Janet is my favorite aunt. (singular subject & verb)
 My mother’s sisters are all the best. (plural subject & verb)
 Cameron was last year’s winner. (singular subject & verb)
 Last year the Johnsons were the winners. (plural subject & verb)
 Lisa has the largest room in her parents’ house. (singular subject & verb)
 We have the best cheerleading team in the nation. (plural subject & verb)
 Samantha does drive the school bus for Desoto ISD. (singular subject & verb)
 The Johnsons do own five beautiful houses in Arizona. (plural subject & verb)
 Gary goes to Beltline Elementary in Desoto. (singular subject & verb)
 The Freeman children go away to summer camp every year. (plural subject &
verb)
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Special Cases: The pronoun “you” is both singular and plural, but
it always takes on the plural form in sentences.
Examples:
 You are the winner of the school’s raffle. (“are”—plural)
 You love to eat chicken. (“love”—plural)
 You eat fried green tomatoes.
(“eat”—plural)
S-T-E-P-S to Agreement:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Identify the subject (of the sentence).
Check to see if it is singular or plural.
Identify the verb (in the sentence).
Make sure they agree! If they don’t, make them agree!
Guided Practice (NOTES)
 Write the correct form of each word in parenthesis on the line provided
for you.
1. Teachers ________________ students to be successful. (encourage)
2. Roy Williams _______________ with the Dallas Cowboys. (play)
3. Aunt Anna ___________ for people to sample her foods; however, she doesn’t
like to share her recipes with everyone. (love)
4. Students ___________ reminded daily to stay prepared for success. (is)
5. The Thanksgiving break always ______________ good food and relaxation.
(promise)
6. Camille ________________ herself in a very respectful manner.
(carry)
7. Beyonce’ ________ a new album entitled “B-Day” that has received high
ratings. (has)
8. I thought the Cowboys ____________ going to win the game on Sunday
against the Jaguars, but they lost.
(was)
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