SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT Back to the Basics

WHILE THIS IS ADORABLE… It is wrong!

WHAT IS A SUBJECT? The subject of a sentence tells who or what the sentence is about.  Example: The woman with the green hat ate lunch.  Three pelicans flew over the beach.  The children built a sandcastle.  Ben played chess with Alex.  After the game, the football team went to McDonalds for dinner.

WHAT IS A PREDICATE? The predicate of a sentence tells what the subject does or is. It is sometimes called the verb.  Example: The woman with the green hat ate lunch.  Three pelicans flew over the beach.  The children built a sandcastle.  Ben played chess with Alex.  After the game, the football team went to McDonalds for dinner.

WHAT ABOUT AUXILIARY/HELPING/LINKING VERBS? Well, they all mean pretty much the same thing. A verb that determines the mood, tense, or aspect of another verb in a verb phrase. Auxiliary verbs always precede main verbs within a verb phrase. Commonly Used Auxiliary Verbs Am, Is, Are, Was, Were Be, Being, BeenHave(ing), Has, Had Do(ing), Does, DidCan, CouldWill, WouldShall, Should May, Might, MustOught

AUXILIARY PRACTICE 1. I have to get up early on Sundays. 2. You must not play with fire. 3. In my job I have to travel a lot. 4. Don’t lend her your car. She will crash it. 5. Do you have to work on Sundays? 6. I don’t have to work this afternoon. 7. You must hurry up if you don’t want to miss the train.

WHAT IS A PREPOSITION? A preposition is a word that shows a relationship between its object and some other word in the sentence. Every preposition must have an object to complete the phrase. The object will be either a noun or a pronoun. If there is no object, the word in question is not a preposition or is used improper. YOU SHOULD KNOW THE PREPOSITIONS! WE HAVE BEEN STUDYING THEM FOR TWO WEEKS!

SOMETIMES, IT CAN BE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE SUBJECT AND THE PREDICATE… So we remove prepositional phrases!

LETS PRACTICE! There on the sidewalk waits the photographer. Many in the class near Mr. Thompson is hearing his lecture. The scientist interested in insects (has discovered, have discovered) hundreds of species. Students of the rain forest (is alarmed, are alarmed) at its rate of destruction.

LETS PRACTICE AGAIN! _____ 1.Fossils is fascinating records of the past. _____ 2.They tell us about plants and animals of long ago. _____ 3.Some ancient animals, such as dinosaurs, were huge. _____ 4.A dinosaur fossil preserve a tooth, a bone, or even a major part of the skeleton. _____ 5.Fossil hunters has found dinosaurs remains around the world. Step 1: Take out the trash Step 2: Underline the subject once and the verb twice Step 3: Write “yes” if the subject and verb agree or “no” if it does not.

LETS PRACTICE AGAIN! _____ 6.Dinosaurs were fixed in time in a number of ways. _____ 7.Some was frozen in glaciers. _____ 8.Such a dinosaur is like frozen food in your freezer. _____ 9.Other dinosaurs was caught in tar pits and preserved there. _____10.Fossil evidence show that many dinosaurs died in a short period of time. Step 1: Take out the trash Step 2: Underline the subject once and the verb twice Step 3: Write “yes” if the subject and verb agree or “no” if it does not.