Fifth grade test review!

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

RULES FOR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

 RULE 1 – A verb agrees with its subject in number.

  Singular subjects take singular verbs:

   The car stays in the garage.    The flower smells good.

 There is an old saying: “Opposites attract.” The rule for singular and plural verbs is just the opposite of the rule for singular and plural nouns. Remember this when you match subjects and verbs. You might guess that stays and smells are plural verbs because they end in s. They aren’t. Both stays and smells are singular verbs.

 RULE 2 – The number of the subject (singular or plural) is not changed by words that come between the subject and the verb.

 One of the eggs is broken. Of the eggs is a prepositional phrase. The subject one and the verb is are both singular. Mentally omit the prepositional phrase to make the subject verb-agreement easier to make.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE 1

 Direction: Circle the correct verb in each of the sentences below. Check your answers on the following page.

1. Your friend (talk-talks) too much.

2. The man with the roses (look-looks) like your brother.

3. The women in the pool (swim-swims) well.

4. Bill (drive-drives) a cab.

5. The football players (run-runs) five miles every day.

6. That red-haired lady in the fur hat (live-lives) across the street.


Singular and plural subjects:
A singular subject refers to one (1) thing or person.
A plural subject refers to more than one thing or person.
Write S for a singular subject and P for a plural subject.

___1, The horses
___2. The house
___3. My car
___4. Carlos and Pedro
___5. These pencils


Subject - Verb Agreement with Verb to BE.

The cat (is-are-am) playing.
My notebook (is-are-am) big.
The papers (is -are-am) on the floor.
My toys ( is-are-am ) interesting.