subject verb agreement

What is a subject? What is a Verb?

One way to find the subject of a sentence is to find the verb first. After you have found the verb, ask “Who?” or “What?” before it and the answer will be the subject.

Tall, grey stone walls towered in front of her.

The verb is towered. Who or what towered? 

walls. 

Walls is the subject

What is the verb of a sentence?

The verb of the sentence is what the subject is doing/the action/what is happening.

Multiple Choice

What is the verb in the following sentence?

My dog barked at the mailman.

• You

• my

• dog

• barked

• at

Multiple Choice

What is the verb in the following sentence?

She laughed so hard.

• you

• laughed

• so

• hard

• she

Multiple Choice

What is the verb?

The musician went to the airport.

• you

• musician

• went

• to

• airport

What is the subject of a sentence?

After you have found the verb, ask “Who?” or “What?” before it and the answer will be the subject.

WHO is doing the action?

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that is doing the action.

Find the subject in a few example sentences with the help of the following video.

Multiple Choice

What is the subject?

My dog barked at the mailman.

• you

• my

• dog

• barked

• mailman

Multiple Choice

What is the subject?

She laughed so hard.

• you

• she

• laughed

• so

• hard

Multiple Choice

What is the subject?

The musician went to the airport.

• you

• musician

• went

• airport

Multiple Select

1. Annie and her brothers are at school.

What is the Subject and what is the Verb?

• School, are

• Annie and her brothers, are

• Annie, at school

• her brothers, school

Multiple Select

What is the verb or action?

Around the bend roared the train.

• around

• bend

• roared

• train

Multiple Select

What question should you ask to find the subject?

Around the bend roared the train.

• Where is the bend?

• Who is in the train?

• What roared?

• Where is the train going?

Multiple Select

What is the subject?

Around the bend roared the train.

• bend

• around

• roared

• train

Sentences that are Questions

You can find the subject by turning the question into a statement and then use the above method of finding the verb and the subject.

Example:

Did he buy the car?

(Change to He did buy the car. The verb is buy because that is the action and the subject is he because he is the one who is doing the action.)

Sentences beginning with "There"

There can be used to get a sentence started when the subject comes after the verb. Be careful NOT to choose there as the subject.

To find the subject in such a sentence, omit there and then find the verb and the subject.

Examples:

There are apples in the box.

(Change to Apples are in the box. The verb is are and apples is the subject).

Multiple Select

There is someone in the room.

(Choose two correct answers from below.)

• There is the subject and is is the verb.

• The verb is is and someone is the subject

• Change to "The room is there for someone."

• Change to "Someone is in the room."

• Room is the subject and in is the verb.

The Understood (or Implied) Subject

In a request or a command, the subject of a sentence is usually not stated.

Instead, the person spoken to is understood to be the subject.

Example:

Please clean the table.

(The implied subject is the person spoken to which is you).

Multiple Select

Do not walk on the grass.

• The subject is the grass.

• The implied subject is the speaker.

• The subject is walk.

• The implied subject is the person spoken to which is you.

There is A LOT to know about subjects and verbs.

BUT, it really isn't that complicated.

When you can tell the subject and the verb in a sentence, it is easier to figure out proper subject-verb agreement.

SO WHAT?

If you have proper subject-verb agreement, you will be able to speak and write (communicate) clearly, effectively, and intelligently.

Ready for a quick little quiz on subjects and verbs in sentences?

If yes, go take the quiz! If not, look through this lesson again and ask for extra help if you need it! Feel free to explore Google on your own if you feel you learn better when you do your own investigating!