Subject-Verb Agreement Two people is at the bus stop. Each girl won their varsity letter. Two people are at the bus stop. Each girl won her varsity letter.

Subject-Verb Agreement Every sentence contains both a SUBJECT and a VERB What is a subject? Who or what is doing the verb What is a verb? Action verbs: express an action -- bark, jump, hit, speak Linking verbs: connect the subject to something that is being said about the subject – am, is, are, was, seem, become

Subject-Verb Agreement Back to our examples… - What is the subject? - What is the verb? Two people are at the bus stop. Each girl won her varsity letter.

Subject-Verb Agreement Agreement: Singular subjects agree with singular verbs Plural subjects agree with plural verbs EX. The course was easy. The courses were easy. …. so far, so good, right?

Subject-Verb Agreement Where students normally start to trip up is when the subject is linked to phrases or clauses : Clause: a group of words that contain both a subject and a verb Phrase: a group of words

Subject-Verb Agreement Ex. The book of short stories is by Eudora Welty. The book of short stories is by Eudora Welty. The book is by Eudora Welty. Ex. The girl who sells eggs is our next-door neighbor. The girl who sells eggs is our next-door neighbor. The girl is our next-door neighbor.

Subject-Verb Agreement Ex. The book of short stories is by Eudora Welty. The book of short stories is by Eudora Welty. The book is by Eudora Welty. Ex. The girl who sells eggs is our next-door neighbor. The girl who sells eggs is our next-door neighbor. The girl is our next-door neighbor. Ex. Our English class, accompanied by Mrs. Strauss, attends several plays each year. Our English class, accompanied by Mrs. Strauss, attends several plays each year. Our English class attends several plays each year.

Subject-Verb Agreement On your own, do the ODD-NUMBERED exercises on page 85: 1. is 3. attack 5. is 7. concerns 9. grants 11. endangers 13. resists 15. produces 17. was 19. constitutes

Subject-Verb Agreement Another problem area is when the subject takes the form of a pronoun : some, many, someone, any, everything, each Sometimes, the pronouns are followed by phrases : Many of these words Some of the students Each of the girls

Subject-Verb Agreement Highlight the common singular pronouns (6d) Neither book is in the library. Neither of the books is in the library. Highlight the common plural pronouns (6e) Many of our animals are becoming instinct. Both of the cars start readily in cold weather. BE CAREFUL: words that can be both singular and plural (6f) – some, any, none, all, most Some of the money was saved. Some of the tickets were sold.

Subject-Verb Agreement On your own, do the ODD-NUMBERED exercises on page 87-88: 1.has 3. involve 5. succeeds 7. regards 9. Does 11. was 13. Both 15. object

Subject-Verb Agreement What to do with compound subjects? Compound subject: when subjects are joined by and or or Subjects are joined by and take a plural verb: A hot dog and ketchup seem to belong together. Aries, Taurus, and Gemini are signs of the zodiac.

Subject-Verb Agreement Subjects joined by or or nor take a singular verb: Has your mother or your father given permission to use the car? Neither snow nor ice keeps the mail carriers from their appointed rounds.

Subject-Verb Agreement The tricky one… When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the NEARER subject: Neither the students nor their teacher regrets the approach of summer. Neither my sisters nor I am planning to attend.

Subject-Verb Agreement On your own, do the ODD-NUMBERED exercises on page 93-94: 1. is 3. is 5. makes 7. was 9. is 11. was 13. is 15. attend 17. serves 19. is