WORKBOOK

Developing Reading
Skills

Sentence
Construction
subject – verb agreement

Name of the student:

Sentence Construction

Reading is the foundation for success. When children develop reading

habit early in their lives, they are more likely to be successful in school, work,
and life in general.

Sentence construction may seem like a writing skill, but it’s an essential reading
skill. Connecting ideas between and within the sentences are called cohesion,
and these skills are essential for reading comprehension.

Basic sentence pattern in English

In English, our sentences usually operate using a similar pattern: subject, verb,
then object. The nice part about this type of structure is that it lets your reader
easily know who is doing the action and what the outcome of the action is.

A subject performs the action in a sentence

• For instance, in the sentence, “Matt eats pizza,” Matt is the subject
because he is the one eating the pizza

A verb is a word that usually indicates some type of action. There are two basic
types of verbs in English: action verbs and linking verbs. An action verb
represents something the subject of a sentence does, whereas a linking verb
connects the subject to a specific state of being. In other words, a linking verb
describes a subject instead of expressing an action. Linking verbs are also
known at state of being verbs, and the most common one in English is the
verb to be.

• If we consider the above sentence, “Matt eats pizza,” the verb is eats,
which is an action verb because it tells us what Matt does – he eats.
 • In this sentence, “Matt is hungry,” our verb is, which is a form of to be, a
linking verb. Notice how Matt does not do anything in this sentence.
Instead, the verb is describing how Matt feels – hungry. Is links Matt with
hunger.

An object usually appears after the verb. There are two types of objects in the
English language: direct and indirect.
• A direct object takes or receives the action of the verb. In other words,
the subject of the sentence acts on the direct object.

o The direct object in our sample sentence “Matt eats pizza” is pizza.
Matt eats what? Pizza

• An indirect object tells us to whom or for whom an action is done. To

understand this concept, we need to come up with a longer sentence.

o Our new sample sentence will be, “Matt cuts the pizza for Nate.” In
this sentence, our subject is Matt, our verb is cuts, the direct object
is the pizza, and our indirect object is Nate. The pizza is cut for
whom? Nate because Matt cuts the pizza for him.

Remember:
The basic pattern of English sentences is SUBJECT + VERB + OBJECT.
Activities/Exercises

Activity I:
Instructions: Circle the correct verb.

1. The dog (eat / eats) the bone.

2. My mom (like / likes) pizza and tacos.

3. My friends (watch / watches) a lot of television.

4. My brother and sister (play / plays) basketball.

5. One of the cars (go / goes) very fast.

6. Mr. Brown, the banker, (count / counts) a lot of money.

7. The cats (roll / rolls) around in the mud.

8. This ice cream (taste / tastes) delicious.

9. My cousins (live / lives) in Chicago.

10. My team (lose / loses) games all the time.

11. Michael (want / wants) to be a teacher.

12. We (need / needs) to buy a new house.

13. My brother and sister (play / plays) basketball.

14. One of the cars (go / goes) very fast.

15. Mr. Brown, the banker, (count / counts) a lot of money.

Activity II: Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise

Instructions: Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject
1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.
8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to
watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's
favorite subject.
Activity III:
Build your own sentence using the basic pattern of English sentences.
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Answer Keys:

Activity I:
1. The dog eats the bone.
2. My mom likes pizza and tacos.
3. My friends watch a lot of television.
4. My brother and sister play basketball.
5. One of the cars goes very fast.
6. Mr. Brown, the banker, counts a lot of money.
7. The cats roll around in the mud.
8. This ice cream tastes delicious.
9. My cousins live in Chicago.
10. My team loses games all the time.
11. Michael wants to be a teacher.
12. We need to buy a new house.
13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
14. Is the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics is John's favorite subject, while Civics are Andrea's favorite
subject.
Activity II:

1. Annie and her brothers are at school.

2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats are outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.

6. Benito doesn't know the answer.

7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.

11. Either answer is acceptable.

12. Every one of those books is fiction.

13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.

14. Is the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics is John's favorite subject, while Civics is Andrea's favorite

subject.