Subject-Verb Agreement

Verbs must agree

In a sentence, the subject is who or what does the action, and the verb is the action. The verb has to match the subject. We call this subject-verb agreement. 🔗

She runs fast. 🏃

They run fast. 🏃🏃

Same action, but the verb changes to match the subject!

One thing: add -s

When the subject is one person or thing (she, he, it, the dog), the present-tense verb usually adds -s.

Subject	Verb
She	runs 🏃
He	plays ⚽
The cat	sleeps 😴

More than one: drop the -s

When the subject is more than one (they, we, the dogs), the verb drops the -s.

Subject	Verb
They	run 🏃🏃
We	play ⚽⚽
The cats	sleep 😴😴

Is and are

The little verb to be changes too:

• One thing → is: The dog is happy. 🐶
• More than one → are: The dogs are happy. 🐶🐶

I am ready. You are ready. She is ready. ✅

A quick check

Ask: is the subject one, or more than one? Then pick the matching verb. One often takes the -s; more than one does not. 👂

Play and practise

Play the matching game to pair each subject with the right verb. Then flip the flashcards to fill in the missing verb.

Keep going

Try these next:

• Naming words and doing words: Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives
• Time of the verb: Past, Present and Future Tense

Now your subjects and verbs work as a team! 🤝 Brilliant! 🌟