Transcript for:
Understanding Subject-Verb Agreement

Before you watch this video, can you guess which sentence is correct? The apple fall. The apple falls. Well, that's what we are talking about today, subject-verb agreement.

So hold on to your answer because we'll come back to it in just a bit. What is subject-verb agreement? This just means that the subject and the verb has to get along, like they're buddies. They have to agree with each other.

So what does that mean? That means if the subject is singular, then the verb has to be singular. If the subject is plural, then the verb has to be plural. If you're not sure what singular and plural noun means, stop watching this video, scroll down to the description box, and find the link to the video about singular and plural nouns and watch that first. We are going to focus on nouns as subjects today, and we are going to learn how the nouns match the verbs.

First, let's learn about singular noun and verb agreement. We first need to remember that singular means there is just one. It's single. It's alone.

Here's a couple of singular nouns. Car, tree, wall. Here's something really important to remember about a singular verb. A singular verb always has an S at the end.

Eats, drinks. Remember that singular means just one. one thing.

I try to remember putting an s at the end by thinking that it wants a little friend s because it's single or alone. I know it's a bit silly, but it helps me remember. Read this sentence.

A bird sings. A bird. That's a singular noun.

That means there's just one bird. We need a singular verb. Remember? A singular verb wants a little friend s at the end. So we'll say a bird sings.

Here's another one. A flower grows. A flower is a singular noun.

There's just one flower. And grows is a singular verb. Do you see our little friend s at the end of our singular verb? We have a singular noun and a singular verb, so our subject and verb agree with each other.

Now let's go back to those sentences you saw at the beginning of this video. The apple fall, the apple falls. Which subject and verb agree? The apple is a singular noun, so we need a singular verb.

Balls. Now that we know how to match a singular noun and singular verb in a sentence, can you spot which sentence is correct? A boy dances. A boy dance. That's right.

A boy dances is correct because boy is a singular noun. So you need a singular verb, dances. Don't forget that F at the end of a singular verb.

Shall we now look at the plural noun and plural verb agreement? We first need to remember that plural means there is more than one. It is not alone. Here's a couple of plural nouns.

Birds. T, bananas. One thing you need to remember about plural verbs is that unlike singular verbs, we will not add S at the end.

Think of it this way. When a sentence is in the plural form, it means there's more than one. It's not alone.

You don't want another friend S to make it too crowded. Look at this next sentence. Flowers is a plural noun. So we need a... plural verb.

Bloom is a plural verb. Do you see that we did not add an s at the end? We have a plural noun and a plural verb, so our subject and verb agree with each other.

What about these sentences? Which one is correct? The children play with toys.

The children plays with toys. The children play with toys is the correct sentence. Children is a plural noun, meaning there's more than one child. So we need a plural verb to go along with the subject.

Play is the plural verb, and there is no extra s at the end of play. Try this one. The elves wraps the presents. The elves wrap the presents.

Which one is correct? The elves wrap the presents is the correct sentence. Elves is a plural noun, so we have a plural verb.

A plural verb does not have an extra s at the end, so it's wrap. Now that we know how to match a plural noun and plural verb in a sentence, can you spot which sentence is correct? The stars shines. The stars shine. Good job!

The stars shine is correct because stars is a plural noun and shine is a plural verb. I hope this video helped you better understand about subject-verb agreement with singular and plural nouns. Check out the description below for more videos like this.

You'll also find links to games and activities about subject-verb agreement. Thank you for watching and don't forget to subscribe. By liking this video and subscribing to my channel, I'll be able to make more videos like this for you. Bye now!