Subject-Verb Agreement The SUBJECT and the VERB of a sentence must agree in number.

SINGULAR  If the subject of the sentence is SINGULAR, the verb must also be SINGULAR. A car stops quickly at the light. sing. sing. sing. sing. A singular verb in present tense ends with –s.

PLURAL  If the subject of the sentence is PLURAL, the verb must also be PLURAL. Cars stop quickly at the light. plur. plur. plur. plur. A plural verb in present tense does NOT end with –s.

PRACTICE Acadia National Park (lies, lie) along Maine’s coast.

PRACTICE Several islands (is, are) in the park.

PRACTICE Acadia (feature, features) a rocky coastline.

PRACTICE Mount Desert Island (is, are) very beautiful.

PRACTICE Many people (travels, travel) to Acadia every year.

PRACTICE They (photographs, photograph) the wildlife.

PRACTICE Mammoth Cave (is, are) in Kentucky.

PRACTICE The passageways (winds, wind) for nearly two hundred miles.

Prepositional Phrases  Sometimes a prepositional phrase comes between the subject and the verb. A park in the islands contains a volcano. In this case, IGNORE the phrase. Your subject & verb must still agree!

PRACTICE The island of Oahu (has, have) a mild climate.

PRACTICE Islands of volcanic origin (rises, rise) in the Pacific.

PRACTICE Travelers to Haleakala (sees, see) a huge crater.

PRACTICE A hike along the cliffs (is, are) exciting.

PRACTICE Our trip to the islands (delights, delight) us.

PRACTICE A busload of tourists (arrives, arrive) in the park.

PRACTICE Parts of Kauai (has, have) served as movie locations.

PRACTICE The rain forests of Hawaii (needs, need) protection.

“HERE” and “THERE”  Some sentences begin with the words “here” and “there.” These words are NOT the subject of the sentence!  Look for the subject after the verb in this type of sentence. There is a park on Maui. Here in the park are tropical forests.

PRACTICE There (is, are) lush green trees everywhere.

PRACTICE There (is, are) many visitors to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

QUESTIONS In a sentence that is a question, turn it into a declarative sentence. It is easier to find the subject.

QUESTIONS Example: Does James need a blanket? Declarative: James does need a blanket.

QUESTIONS Now you can see the subject clearly, and it is singular. Therefore, “does” is the correct form of the verb.

PRACTICE (Does, Do) you have my phone number? You do have my phone number.

PRACTICE (Have, Has) the teacher given the instructions yet? The teacher has given the instructions.

PRACTICE (Was, Were) the boys the best choice for the opening act? The boys were the best choice for the opening act.

Review – Indefinite Pronouns Always Singular – Use singular verb Always Plural – Use plural verb Singular OR Plural – Look at the prepositional phrase after the indefinite pronoun Examples: Some of the animals were visible at the zoo. Most of the book appeals to young readers.

PRACTICE Most of the cookies (contain, contains) raisins and chocolate chips.

PRACTICE Some of television show (entertain, entertains) my family.

PRACTICE All of the students (arrive, arrives) to their classes on time.

PRACTICE More of the punch (is, are) available in the kitchen.