Subject Verb Agreement Review

1. Subject Verb Agreement Review 7th Grade ELA Mrs. Berchtold

2. This tent (has, have) a skylight.

3. This tent HAS a skylight. The subject, tent, is singular, so the verb must be singular too.

4. Crickets (make, makes) an interesting sound.

5. Crickets MAKE an interesting sound. The plural verb make agrees with the plural subject Crickets.

6. Some boys in my class (own, owns) unicycles.

7. Some boys in my class OWN unicycles. The plural verb own agrees with the plural subject boys.

8. The sounds outside at night (help, helps) me sleep.

9. The sounds outside at night HELP me sleep. The subject, sounds, is plural, so the verb must be plural too.

10. Dad (is, are) mowing the lawn.

11. Dad IS mowing the lawn. IS MOWING is the verb phrase. The singular helping verb “is” agrees with the singular subject of Dad.

12. Some friends (have, has) joined us for dinner.

13. Some friends HAVE joined us for dinner. HAVE JOINED is the verb phrase. The plural helping verb “have” agrees with the plural subject “friends”.

14. (Do, Does) Jake know the answer to that question?

15. DOES Jake know the answer to that question? DOES KNOW is the verb phrase. The singular helping verb “DOES” agrees with the singular subject “Jake”.

16. Kevin, Diane, and Mr. McBay (teach, teaches) soccer at my summer camp.

17. Kevin, Diane, and Mr. McBay TEACH soccer at my summer camp. Kevin, Diane, AND Mr. McBay form a COMPOUND SUBJECT (plural!) because all three people are teaching.

18. (Are, Is) spring and fall your favorite seasons?

19. ARE spring and fall your favorite seasons? Spring and fall are joined by AND (compound subject! Plural!) The plural verb “are” agrees with the compound subject of spring and fall.

20. (Do, Does) macaroni and cheese contain salt?

21. DO macaroni and cheese contain salt? Macaroni and cheese are joined by the word “AND” making it a compound subject – PLURAL! This means we need to use the plural verb “DO”.

22. Either Mike or Shelby (sit, sits) in that seat.

23. Either Mike or Shelby SITS in that seat. The singular verb “sits” agrees with the singular subject MIKE …OR… the singular subject Shelby.

24. A sandwich or grapes (make, makes) a good snack.

25. A sandwich or grapes MAKE a good snack. “Grapes” is a plural subject. “Sandwich” is a singular subject. The word “OR” separates the two subjects. We must use the subject CLOSEST to the verb. “Grapes” is closer, and plural, so “MAKE” is the plural answer.

26. Grapes or a sandwich (make, makes) a good snack.

27. Grapes or a sandwich MAKES a good snack. “Grapes” is a plural subject. “Sandwich” is a singular subject. The word “OR” separates the two subjects. We must use the subject CLOSEST to the verb. “SANDWICH” is closer, and SINGULAR, so “MAKES” is the SINGULAR answer.

28. Singular Indefinite Pronouns • Use a singular verb to agree with the following indefinite pronouns when they are used as subjects: • anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something

29. Somebody (have, has) a good idea.

30. Somebody HAS a good idea. SOMEBODY is a singular subject so we use the singular verb “has”.

31. Each tree (have, has) been trimmed.

32. Each tree HAS been trimmed. The adjective EACH modifies the noun “tree”. Tree is the subject and tree is singular. The singular verb “has” is correct.

33. Everybody I know (likes, like) a sunny day.

34. Everybody I know LIKES a sunny day. “Everybody” is an indefinite pronoun that is ALWAYS singular! Therefore, we need to use the singular verb “likes”.

35. Anyone in need of help (study, studies) at the tutoring lab.

36. Anyone in need of help studies at the tutoring lab. ANYONE is an indefinite pronoun. Indefinite pronouns are ALWAYS SINGULAR! Because Anyone is singular, we must use the singular verb “studies”.

37. Several of the athletes (win, won) gold medals.

38. Several of the athletes WON gold medals. The plural verb “won” agrees with the plural subject of “Several athletes”.

39. All of the information (are, is) helpful.

40. All of the information IS helpful. The subject ALL is singular because it refers to the singular INFORMATION. The singular verb “IS” agrees with the singular subject “ALL”.

41. All of the workers (is, are) helpful.

42. All of the workers ARE helpful. The subject ALL is plural because it refers to the plural WORKERS. The plural verb “ARE” agrees with the plural subject “ALL WORKERS”.

43. QUIZ TOMORROW!! • 10 multiple choice questions • Directions: Read each set of sentences below. Three of the sentences in each set have ERRORS in agreement; one sentence is written CORRECTLY. Choose the sentence that is written correctly, with NO ERRORS in agreement.

44. EXAMPLE: • A. Ima and her sister plays piano duets. B. The committee differ in their opinions. C. One of the award-winning poems were written by Joseph Bruchac. D. The Marshall Islands are a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

45. ANSWER: B!!! • A: Ima and her sister plays piano duets. • Ima and her sister PLAY piano duets. • COMPOUND SUBJECT! AND! ALWAYS PLURAL!! • B: The committee differ in their opinions. • Committee is a GROUP –BUT- they all have DIFFERENT opinions… more than one opinion! So the group is plural! Differ is plural! CORRECT! • C: One of the award-winning poems were written by Joseph Bruchac. • One of the award-winning poems WAS written by Joseph Bruchac. • ONE of the poems – SINGULAR! Singular verb WAS! • D: The Marshall Islands are a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. • The Marshall Islands IS a chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean. • CHAIN of islands – GROUP of islands = SINGULAR!! “IS”