Subject-Verb AgreementWith Prepositional Phrases and Inverted Word

Order

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?As we have said before, every sentence has:

A SUBJECT that tells who or what the sentence is about

A VERB that tells what the subject does

In every sentence, the subject and verb have to “agree.”

What does this mean?If you have a singular noun, you must use a singular

verb.If you have a plural noun, you must use a plural verb.

What is wrong with these sentences?The balloon are colorful.

The peaches is ripe.

The horses gallops.

Tabitha ride the train.

He repair the bicycle.

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?Like we said, singular nouns must have singular

verbs and plural nouns must have plural verbs:

Balloon is (singular – singular)

Peaches are (plural – plural)

Horses gallop (plural – plural)

Tabitha rides (singular – singular)

He repairs (singular – singular)

General Rules of S-V AgreementSingular noun = onePlural noun = more than one

For most singular verbs, add an SFor most plural verbs, don’t add an S

Of course, there are verbs with different singular/plural forms such as:

is/are has/have

ProblemsIn most cases, you can probably easily choose

which verb agrees with the subject of a sentence.

But, sometimes there are tricky sentences that can confuse you and make it hard to find the subject of the sentence.Prepositional Phrases Inverted Word OrderIndefinite Pronouns Compound SubjectsCollective Nouns

Why does this matter? Because if you don’t know what the subject of the sentence is, you can’t make the verb agree with it.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Prepositional Phrases

Review: Prepositional PhrasesBefore we move on, let’s stop and review what a

prepositional phrase is.Prepositions: show relationship between words in a

sentence.

Remember “the mountain”?

I walked _____________ the mountain

^^Words that fit in the blank are probably prepositions BUT not all prepositions fit in the blank.

Prepositions

Prepositional PhrasesA prepositional phrases begins with a

preposition word (like the ones we just looked at in the list) and a noun/pronoun (+ any adjectives describing it).

I went to the store.

Jake from State Farm is on the phone.

The president of the club is speaking to the members.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Prepositional PhrasesSo, what do prepositional phrases have to do

with subject-verb agreement?Sometimes, prepositional phrases come between

the subject and verb of a sentence.

The president of the club is speaking to the members.

When prepositional phrases come between the subject and verb, it can lead you to choosing the incorrect verb form.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Prepositional PhrasesThe verb in the sentence needs to “agree”

with the subject of the sentence, not the noun/pronoun in the prepositional phrase.

The players on the baseball team were disappointed.

The subject will NEVER be located within the prepositional phrase.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Prepositional PhrasesSo, how do you avoid mistakes in subject-verb

agreement when a prepositional phrase comes between them?

1. Identify the prepositional phrase of the sentence. Put parentheses around it.

2. Identify the subject of the sentence – remember: it will NOT be located within the prep phrase. Circle it.

3. Now, ignore the prepositional phrase and look at only the subject and verb of the sentence. Decide which form of the verb will agree with the subject.

Practice1. A bag of marbles (is / are) on the shelf.

2. The peppers in the garden (has / have) grown quickly.

3. The moon over the ocean (is / are) a beautiful sight.

4. The hands on my watch (glows / glow) in the dark.

5. Four students from our school (plays / play) in the band.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Inverted Word Order

S-V-A with Inverted Word OrderSo far, we have often seen that the subject

comes at the beginning of the sentence.However, sometimes there are other words at

the beginning of the sentence that are not actually the subject of the sentence.

This can happen when:A prepositional phrase is at the beginning of

the sentence (instead of between the subject + verb)

Sentences start with here or thereSentences that ask a question

Prep. Phrases @ Beginning of SentenceSometimes, prepositional phrases will come at

the beginning of the sentence.Like we said we when talked about

prepositional phrases that come in between the subject and the verb: the prepositional phrase will never contain the subject of the sentence.

To find the subject in these types of sentences:1. Find a preposition word2. Put parentheses around the entire prep phrase3. Look at the remaining words in the sentence

and decide who or what the sentence is about.

Practice1. Across the ocean (sails / sail) millions of

boats.

2. From the roof of the porch (hangs / hang) several flower baskets.

3. Among the shrubs (was / were) a tiny kitten.

Here and ThereSome sentences begin with the words here and

there. The words here and there are never the subject

of the sentence.In sentences like these, the verb will usually

come before the subject (instead of the usual subject-verb order).

Ex: Here is a picture of my grandparents.To decide if the subject and verb agree, you can

rearrange the sentence to see if it sounds correct.

Ex: A picture of my grandparents is here.

Practice1. Here (is / are) the garden chairs for your

party.

2. There (is / are) your lost shoes.

3. There (is / are) my classmate!

Question (Interrogative) SentencesIn some interrogative sentences, a helping

verb comes before the subject and is separated from the main verb.

To find the subject of these sentences, look between the helping verb and the main verb.

Ex: Do these stories interest you?To see if the subject and verb agree correctly,

you can rearrange the sentence into a statement.

Ex: These stories do interest you.

Practice1. (Has / Have) rabbits destroyed your garden

this summer?

2. (Is / Are) the eighth-graders having a school dance?

3. (Does / Do) marigolds bloom in the spring?