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Grammar
Subjects
Verbs
Subject-Verb Agreement
Subjects / Verbs - REVIEW
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Subject
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Verb / Predicate
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Who or what the sentence is about
Could be a noun or pronoun
Performs the action of the verb
Action of the sentence
Ex.) He ran around the block.
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Subject
 Who or what is the sentence about? – He (pronoun)
Verb
 What is the action of the sentence? - ran
Simple vs. Complete
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Simple Subjects and Predicates (Verbs) vs.
Complete Subjects and Predicates (Verbs):
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Complete: includes words that modify the subject/verb (I.e.
– adjectives)
Simple: essential words only - that can’t be left out
Ex.) Simple vs. Complete Subject
 Complete Subject: The angry man ran down the street.
 Simple Subject: The angry man ran down the street.
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Complete Predicate: The angry man ran down the street.
Simple Predicate: The angry man ran down the street.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Basic Principle…
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Singular subjects require singular verbs
Plural subjects require plural verbs
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There’s always exceptions to the rules, and there are
tons with the above rules– but we’re going to start
basic, and then move forward.
All of the following examples deal with rules in the
present tense!
Present Tense rules…
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Correcting errors with subject-verb agreement:
basic solution #1 (when in the present tense)
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Add an “s” to the verb if its subject is singular
Don’t add an “s” to the verb if its subject is plural
 Example: Jamie sings in the car on the way to work.
(Jamie = singular subject / sings = verb = added
an “s”)
 Example: My sisters sing in the car on the way to
work.
(sisters = plural subject / sing = verb = didn’t
add an “s”)
Other present tense rules…
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Add an “s” to the verb if the subject is any
one of the third-person singular pronouns
(he, she, it, this, that)
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He drives a minivan.
She follows a different drummer.
It looks like rain.
This confuses me.
That takes the cake.
Other present tense rules…
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Do NOT add an “s” to the verb if the subject
is the pronoun: I, you, we, or they.
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I make my own rules.
You drive a hard bargain.
We take pride in our work.
They sing out of key.
Other present tense rules…
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Do NOT add an “s” to the verb if two subjects
are joined by and.
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Jack and Sawyer often argue with each other.
Charlie and Hurley enjoy music.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Practice Exercise
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1.
2.
3.
4.
For each pair of sentences below, write out the
correct form of the verb in parentheses. Keep it in
the present tense, and use the rules I just gave to
you.
This convenience store closes at midnight. The
other stores (close) at 11.
Kyle complains about everything. He even
(complain) about the color of the sky.
My sisters play musical instruments. My brother
and his friend would rather (play) with their iPods.
I care about her very much. She (care) about no
one but herself.
Practice cont.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
This coffee tastes horrible. You (taste) it and tell
me what you think.
Our refrigerator leaks. Water (leak) onto the floor
everyday, leaving a huge mess.
Every afternoon, they hurry down to the station to
meet their mother. She (hurry) home from work.
Sally carries a leather bag filled with change. We
don’t (carry) as much as she does.
We grow corn and potatoes on our farm. My
brother (run) our farm market every Saturday.
Mary criticizes everyone she works with. She
never (criticize) herself.
Check your answers!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
close
complains
play
cares
taste
leaks
7.
8.
9.
10.
hurries
carry
runs
criticizes
That was the easy part!
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Now…there are cases when this can get
tricky…
1. Making subjects and verbs agree when words
come between them
2. Finding agreement when the subject is an
indefinite pronoun and/or your dealing with
compound subjects
3. Making irregular verbs have, go, do, and be
agree with their subjects
Problem 1… words in between
your subject and verb
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Compare these two sentences:
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This box belongs in the attic.
This box of ornaments belongs in the attic.
 In both cases, the verb is belongs
 In both cases, the subject is box
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Prepositional phrases (like the one above), adjective
clauses, appositive, and participle phrases can all come
between your subjects and verbs.
You need to mentally cross out interruptions like these, to
ensure you are creating agreement between a subject
and its verb – and NOT a subject and a clause or phrase.
Practice for problem #1
1.
2.
One of my sisters friends is a pilot.
Verb =
Subject =
The people who survived the explosion are in a
shelter.
Verb =
Subject =
Answers: #1 – is / one
#2 – are / people
Problem 2 – indefinite pronouns /
compound subjects
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Indefinite pronouns are words which replace
nouns without specifying which noun they
replace.
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Singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything,
each, either, everybody, everyone, everything,
little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one,
other, somebody, someone, something
Plural: both, few, many, others, several
Singular or Plural: all, any, more, most, none,
some
Indefinite Pronouns cont.
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Singular indefinite pronouns take singular
verbs.
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Correct: Each of the members has one vote.
(The subject, each, is singular. Use has.)
Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs.
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Correct: A few of the justices were voicing their
opposition.
(Few is plural, so are were and their.)
Indefinite Pronouns cont.
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For indefinite pronouns that can be singular
or plural, it depends on what the indefinite
pronoun refers to.
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Correct: All of the people clapped their hands.
(All refers to people, which is plural. Use their.)
Correct: All of the newspaper was soaked.
(Here all refers to newspaper, which is singular.
Use was.)
Problem 2 cont. – compound
subjects
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Every verb in a sentence must have at least
one subject. But that doesn't mean that a
verb can have only one subject.
When a verb has two or more subjects, you
can say that the verb has a compound
subject.
Compound subjects cont.
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When two or more subjects are compounded
with and, they agree with a plural verb.
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A pencil and eraser make writing easier.
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pencil + eraser = plural
make = plural
Compound Subjects cont.
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When subjects are compounded with either,
or, neither, or nor, the verb agrees with the
subject closest to it.
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Neither the director nor the actors are following
the lines closely.
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1st Subject – director – singular
2nd Subject – actors – plural
Verb – are – plural (closer to actors)
Problem 3 – Irregular Verbs
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Not all verbs work in a regular way.
Some of the most common verbs are
irregular.
e.g. be, go, do, have
Verbs and subjects must still agree, but you
have to learn and remember the way the
irregular ones work.
Irregular Verbs cont.
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to do = I do - he / she / it does (NOT do)
 She does karate on Thursdays.
 They do lots of karate during the week.
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to have = I have - he / she / it has (NOT have)
 It has soft fur.
 They have soft hands.
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to go = I go - he / she / it goes (NOT go)
 She goes sailing every month.
 I go every week.
 They ______ every week.