2. What does a Sentence Contain?
• Capital letter at the
beginning of a
sentence.
• A subject
• A verb
• Proper punctuation

3. Sample Sentence
The girl sells sea shells down
by the sea shore.

4. Subject/Verb Agreement
• Subjects and verbs must agree
• Singular subjects need singular verbs
• Plural subjects need plural verbs

5. Which sounds best to you?
1) Joey is/are calling.
2) The boys has/have broken that window once before.
3) Sheila likes/like her new car.
4) Cody thinks/think a lot.
5) The teachers deserves/deserve decent pay.
6) The clouds moves/move slowly.
7) The books is/are over there.
8) Larry gets/get confused easily.
9) Chely sings/sing well.
10) We understands/understand the dilemma.

6. Identifying The Subject
• Reduce the sentence by crossing out
everything but the subject and the verb
The chopsticks my grandmother bought me
for my birthday is/are on the table.
The chopsticks my grandmother bought me
for my birthday is/are on the table.

7. Identifying The Subject
• Reduce the sentence by crossing out everything but the
subject and the verb
1.My brother and his friends needs/need a
ride to the baseball game later.
2.My parents admits/admit they forgot
about the baseball game and made other
plans.

8. Identifying The Subject
• Reduce the sentence by crossing out everything but the
subject and the verb
1.My brother and his friends needs/need a
ride to the baseball game later.
2.My parents admits/admit they forgot
about the baseball game and made other
plans.

9. Subjects That are Always Singular
Anyone Anybody
Anything Each
Either Everyone
Everybody Everybody
Everything Many a
Neither Nobody
Nothing Someone
Somebody Something

10. Subjects That are Always Singular
Titles ending in S
Money and measurements
Pronouns
When groups are acting as one. Such as,
family, class, jury, committee, or herd.

11. Subjects That are Always Plural
• Both
• Few
• Many Several
Nouns such as:
scissors, eye glasses,
shears, pants,
tweezers, trousers.

12. Practice
1) Everyone breaks down and cries/cry
once in awhile.
2) Everybody knows/know her!
3) Both of them knows/ know they are
wrong.
4) Several people needs/need scholarships
for school, so it is best to apply for as
many as possible to increase your
chances of getting them.

13. Practice
1) Everyone breaks down and cries/cry
once in awhile.
2) Everybody knows/know her!
3) Both of them knows/ know they are
wrong.
4) Several people needs/need scholarships
for school, so it is best to apply for as
many as possible to increase your
chances of getting them.

14. Compound Sentences Using “And”
When combining two subjects with “and”,
the subjects then become plural.
Roseanna and Kyle are getting married.

15. Compound Sentences Using “And”
The two subjects joined together with the word
and become plural unless they are referring to
one subject.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a
good book.
My friend and classmate is good at math.

16. Compound Sentences Using “And”
• When combining two subjects with “and”, the subjects
then become plural.
• The two subjects joined together with the word and”
become plural unless they are referring to one subject.
Choose the correct answer that best fits the
sentence:
1. Jonathan and my classmate is/are coming over.
2. My friend and neighbor is/are driving to Chicago
this weekend.

17. Compound Sentences Using “And”
• When combining two subjects with “and”, the subjects
then become plural.
• The two subjects joined together with the word and”
become plural unless they are referring to one subject.
Choose the correct answer that best fits the
sentence:
1. Jonathan and my classmate is/are coming over.
2. My friend and neighbor is/are driving to Chicago
this weekend.

18. Compound Sentences Using “Or”
• When two subjects are joined together with “or” or “nor”
the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
The dog nor the flowers have any water.

19. Compound Sentences Using “Or”
• When two subjects are joined together with “or” or “nor”
the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Choose the correct answer that best fits the
sentence:
1. It isn’t likely that the teacher or the students
is/are going to be unhappy about the weather
today, it is beautiful outside!
2. The students nor the teacher was/were
disappointed about the fieldtrip.

20. Compound Sentences Using “Or”
• When two subjects are joined together with “or” or “nor”
the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Choose the correct answer that best fits the
sentence:
1. It isn’t likely that the teacher or the students
is/are going to be unhappy about the weather
today, it is beautiful outside!
2. The students nor the teacher was/were
disappointed about the fieldtrip.

21. Here, There and It
• Here and There- When the sentence begins with Here or
There, the subject follows the verb and controls whether
the verb is plural
Here is my excuse as to why I cannot come into work
today.
There are two children here at home who are sick and
need my attention.
• It is always singular.
It is my responsibility to care for my children.

22. Overview
My sister Maria is/are eighteen years old. Next
week she will be leaving for college. My parents
admits/admit to my brother and I that they is/are
sad, but they is/are trying to keeps/keep a happy
face on for my sister. The family has/have
decided to drive together to see Maria off to
school. Both my brother and I have/has
arranged to take time off of work and school for
this occasion. I am/are proud of my sister. Even
though I will miss her a lot, I am happy to see
her going away to school to get a good
education.

23. Overview
My sister Maria is/are eighteen years old. Next
week she will be leaving for college. My parents
admits/admit to my brother and I that they is/are
sad, but they is/are trying to keeps/keep a happy
face on for my sister. The family has/have
decided to drive together to see Maria off to
school. Both my brother and I have/has
arranged to take time off of work and school for
this occasion. I am/are proud of my sister. Even
though I will miss her a lot, I am happy to see
her going away to school to get a good
education.

24. Resources
• http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm
• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslsubverb.htm
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25. Evaluation
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us know!
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