ELA · Grammar Galaxy

Subject-Verb Agreement

The subject and its verb must agree in number — both singular, or both plural. Match the verb to how many!
🤝The Matching Rule
ONE → singular The dog chases the cat. SUBJECT VERB ✓ agree MANY → plural The dogs chase the cat. ✓ agree
🔑 Change the subject's number and the verb changes shape right along with it.
🔢Singular vs. Plural Verbs
1️⃣SINGULARone subject
🐱 1 cat run s add -s!
She walks to school.
The bird sings loudly.
💡 In the present tense, a singular verb usually adds -s (walk → walks).
PLURAL2 or more
🐱 🐱 🐱 many cats run no -s
They walk to school.
The birds sing loudly.
💡 A plural verb usually drops the -s (walks → walk). It's the opposite of nouns!
🕵️Watch Out for Tricksters!
📦Words in between
box subject of crayons 🙈 is verb match!
"The box of crayons is mine." Skip the words in between — the verb matches box, not crayons.
Joined by "and"
Sam and Tess play = PLURAL (2 people)
A compound subject joined by and is usually plural: "Sam and Tess play."
🧍Each & everyone
Everyone is ☝️ sounds like a crowd, but = ONE
Indefinite pronouns like each, everyone, somebody are singular: "Everyone is here."
🔑Key Terms
🦸Subject The noun doing the action of the sentence.
🏃Verb The action word, matched to its subject.
🤝Agreement When the subject and verb match in number.
🔢Number Whether a word is singular (one) or plural (many).
Compound Subject Two+ subjects joined by "and" — usually plural.
🧍Indefinite Pronoun "Each, everyone, somebody" — usually singular.
Remember: first find the real subject and count it — one or many — then make the verb match. Singular with singular, plural with plural!
✏️ ELA Anchor Chart · Subject-Verb Agreement
From ClickClass — hundreds of free printables at clickclassedu.com/printables