Subject Verb Agreement

1. Subject Verb Agreement Agreement of Subjects and Verbs Subjects and Prepositional Phrases Parenthetical Expressions, Appositives and other Distractors Finding the Subject & Verb of the Sentence Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects Sentences Beginning with There Compound Subjects Joined by OR/NOR

2. Agreement of subjects AND VERBS • Subjects and Verbs MUST agree in number. • If the subject is plural, then the verbMUST be plural also. • If the subject is singular, then the verbMUST be singular also. • Whatever the subject is, the verb MUST be the same. ALL SINGULAR VERBS END IN “S”… With the exception of “I am” and “you are”

3. Look at these verbs…. • Is, are, do, does, seem, seems, ask, asks, was, were • The ones that end in “S” are all singular! ------ Is, does, seems, asks, was

4. Practice: agreement of Subjects and verbs • Look at the following verbs and label each as singular or plural. • 1. was ________ • 2. look ________ • 3. thinks ________ • 4. is ___________ • 5. were ___________ • 6. ask ____________

5. Practice: agreement of Subjects and verbs • Look at the subjects and decide which verbs agree with them. • 1. man (is, are) ________ • 2. children (was, were) _________ • 3. James (asks, ask) ________ • 4. geese (swims, swim) ________ • 5. boys (runs, run) _________ • 6. vacation (lasts, last) ___________

6. Subjects and prepositional phrases • A prepositionis a word that shows a relationship to another word in the sentence. • Many prepositions show a spatial relationship to another word. • A fun way to remember your prepositions is to think of a cat and a tree…

7. Subjects and prepositional phrases • Any positionthe catcan have in relationto the treeis going to be a preposition! • Examples: • The cat can be beside the tree, in the tree, on the tree, etc.

8. Subjects and prepositional phrases • Common prepositions that you MUST be able to recognize: • Aboard, about, after, against, amid, among, around, at, before, below, beyond, but, concerning, considering, despite, during, except, excluding, following, for, inside, like, , near, of, off, onto, outside, past, per, plus, around, regarding, save, since, to, toward, unlike, upon, versus, via,with, without, within • These show spatial relationship: • Over, above, under, underneath, between, by, beneath, to, from, up, down, into out, through, across, along, around, beneath, beside, behind

9. Practice: Subj. & Prep. Phrases • Identify the prepositions in the following sentences: 1. He ran on the sidewalk. 2. Before class, the children walked slowly down the hall. 3. Beside the road lay the old cart. 4. The cat sat on the shelf above the door. 5. With a big crash, the tree toppled onto the garage.

10. Need to know about prepositional Phrases • Every preposition MUST have an object. • The object of the preposition is the 1st nounafterthe preposition. • The two words together make a prepositional phrase! • The prepositional phrase begins with the preposition, ends with the 1st noun after it, and includesall the words in between.

11. Practice: objects of a preposition Identify the prepositions in this sentence and THEN identify the objects of the prepositions. Example: The dog with the dirt on his face ran through the mud puddle in the middle of the road.

12. Parenthetical expressions, appositives, and other distractors • If anything in the sentence has commas before or after it, then consider getting rid of it in order to find the subject and verb of your sentence. Example: PALS, a student leadership group at RHS, work with students on other campuses as mentors for younger children.

13. Finding the Subject & verb of the sentence When you are trying to find the subject and verb of the sentence, your first task is to draw a line through the prepositional phrases. Then look for the word that shows action, aka THE VERB (it tells you what’s happening). Then ask WHO is doing the action (that’s the SUBJECT).

14. Practice Finding the Subject & verb of the sentence Find the Subject and Verb in the sentence: EXAMPLE: Between every class, the student in the blue baseball hat shouts at the rest of the students in the hallway.

15. Practice:Finding the Subject & verb of the sentence Identify the subjects and verbs in the following sentences: • Long before the last freeze of the winter, come beautiful blooms of the violet. • Only after the judge’s final sentence does the attorney for the defense feel he can relax. • Quietly through the leaves of the tree come the mournful chirps of the lonely bird.

16. Indefinite pronouns as subjects In order to see if your verb agrees with the subject, you will have to know whether the pronoun is singular or plural. SINGULAR INDEFINITE PRONOUNS ------MEMORIZE----- Everyone someone no one anyone each Everybody somebody nobody anybody either Everything something nothing anything neither one EXAMPLES: Each of the cars is painted red. Neither of the boys was going to the movies Everyone in the room has to get his books.

17. Indefinite pronouns as subjects In order to see if your verb agrees with the subject, you will have to know whether the pronoun is singular or plural. PLURAL INDEFINITE PRONOUNS ------MEMORIZE----- BOTH FEW MANY SEVERAL Examples: Both of the men in the purple shirts were going to eat. Few of the remaining teammates are opposed to the new coach. Many of the books cost more than twenty dollars each.

18. Indefinite pronouns as subjects Singular/Plural Indefinite Pronouns These can go either way, and you will have to look at the prepositional phrasefor help. Look for the objectof the prepositionto see what numberand genderthe pronoun is. all some more most none any Examples: All of the water is green. Some of the trees are budding.

19. Practice: Indefinite pronouns as subjects Choose the correct verb tense once you identify the indefinite pronoun as the subject. • Not one of the characters in those plays (seem, seems) good enough for the part. • It was no surprise that neither of the girls (has, have) good table manners. • Each of the signals on those two streets (is, are) broken. • One of the children (was, were) going to the concert. • Everything on those shelves (has, have) a special purpose.

20. Sentences beginning with there When a sentence or a clause begins with the word there, that word is never the subject. It merely refersto the subject. Examples: 1. There was never enough water in the container. 2. I think there is an abundance of jobs in the area. 3. I think there are three more cars in the parade.

21. Practice: Sentences beginning w/ there • There (is, are) several brands in the parade. • There (is, are) an inch of snow on the highway. • There (was, were) seven new houses built in our neighborhood. • There (was, were) too many people to count. • (There’s, There’re) no curves in this road.

22. Compound Subjects joined by or/nor When you have a compound subject whose parts are joined by oror nor, the subject closer to the verbdetermines its number. Example: • Neither the customers nor the manager was aware of the storm. • Neither the manager nor the customers were aware of the storm.

23. Practice: Compound Subjects joined byor/nor Choose the correct verb for these sentences that have compound subjects. • Neither the mechanic nor his workers (was, were) able to get the car running again. • Either Samson or his opposing candidate in the elections (speak, speaks) tonight. • Either the cat or her kittens (has, have) turned over the milk.

24. Review Subject-Verb agreement • Agreement of subjects and verbs- Subjects and verbs MUST agree in number. Singular, singular; plural, plural • Subjects and prepositional phrases- A prepositionis a word that shows a relationship to another word in the sentence. Many prepositions show a spatial relationship to another word. Remember ***the cat & the tree*** • The object of the preposition- The object of the preposition is the 1st nounafterthe preposition. The two words together make a prepositional phrase! The prepositional phrase begins with the preposition, ends with the 1st noun after it, and includesall the words in between. • Parenthetical expressions, appositives, and other distractors- If anything in the sentence has commasbefore or after it, then consider getting rid of it in order to find the subject and verb of your sentence. • Finding the Subject & verb of the sentence-When you are trying to find the subject and verb of the sentence, your first task is to draw a line through the prepositional phrases. Then look for the word that shows action, aka THE VERB (it tells you what’s happening). Then ask WHO is doing the action (that’s the SUBJECT).

25. Review Subject-Verb agreement • Indefinite pronouns as subjects- Identify your pronoun as singular or plural. Memorize your lists of singular pronouns, plural pronouns, and those that can be either. • Sentences beginning with there- When a sentence or a clause begins with the word there, that word is never the subject. It merely refersto the subject. • Compound Subjects joined by or/nor- When you have a compound subject whose parts are joined by oror nor, the subject closer to the verbdetermines its number.