Subject Verb Agreement

Audience: Eleventh Grade

Subjects and verbs must agree in number. If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural. Sometimes, it is easy to determine whether the verb should be singular or plural because only one way sounds right. However, for those who speak English as a second language, it is not so easy. There are several rules which help us understand subject verb agreement. We will be covering these in class.

Engage – Introduction of topic; I will ask students how to determine if the subject and verb agrees. What has been your method in the past?

Explore – Students will be asked to determine which verb is correct in a sample sentence without knowing the rules. They will put their old methods to the test.

Explain – I will explain the rules for subject verb agreement and the exceptions to those rules, according to the Owl at Purdue. (OWL, 2006) We will discuss how this knowledge can enhance our writing.

Expand – Students will be asked to come up with a sentence of their own which exhibits proper subject verb agreement.

Evaluate – I will hand out a quiz. We will do the first three of these in class together. The remaining ten questions will be for homework.

E-Search – In addition to completing the take home quiz, students will be asked to find five sentences on the internet which exhibit proper subject verb agreement for homework. (Warning- There are many sites which are not reviewed by any educational institution. Make sure that you use only trusted academic sites. Do not bring in incorrect sentences!)

Reference List

Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) (Last edited August 20, 2006). Subject Verb Agreement. Retrieved March 2, 2008, from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/