BUILDING

GRAMMAR
SKILLS GRADE 6

Workbook on Subject-Verb Agreement

By Teresita P. Opulencia
 2

A Message to All Students

Developing your linguistic skills at a young age is important because this will play a
huge role in how you communicate with one another. As human beings, sharing
and exchanging thoughts will help you get a better understanding of each other
and the world.

A key component of linguistic skill is the construction of clear and coherent

sentences which is crucial in conveying the right information, both in speaking and
writing. Constructing clear and coherent sentences in turn requires knowledge of
the application of grammar rules. However, learning how to master the rules in
grammar can be a bit difficult; it entails a lot of practice in the right way.

This workbook is designed to provide practice in the essentials of English grammar.

It is composed of five parts as follows:

1. Warm-up exercise. This consists of multiple choice questions that will help you
test your knowledge and understanding of the rules of subject-verb agreement
and assess your strengths and weaknesses.
2. Rules of subject-verb. This part explains the essential rules of subject-verb
agreement with several examples to ensure easier comprehension of the rules.
3. Activities. This part presents various exercises to practice the rules and help you
remember what you have learned.
4. Writing prompt. This allows you to write about a topic and
explore your creativity and critical thinking.
5. Unit test. This consists of multiple choice questions that
will reassess how much you have learned about the topics.

At the end of the workbook, you are expected to

explain the rules of subject-verb agreement and
construct sentences using correct subject-verb
agreement.

The author hopes that the discussion

and the different activities will equip you
with the knowledge and understanding
that will help you build your grammar
skills, develop your linguistic skills, and
enable you to communicate effectively.
 3

Warm-Up
Directions: Read each item carefully. Encircle the letter of the correct answer to
complete the sentence.

1. A singular verb is used when the 4. In the sentence, “Neither my

subject used is ____ mother nor my sisters ______ going
to visit you” the correct verb is
A. singular
B. plural A. is
C. adjective B. are
C. has
2. Indefinite pronouns such as
anyone, someone, or nobody require 5. In the sentence, “There are pencils
_______ verbs in the boxes”, the subject is

A. singular A. there
B. plural B. pencils
C. depending on what it refers to C. boxes

3. Indefinite pronouns such as all or 6. What is the correct form of the

some require _________ verbs verb in the sentence, “The mayor,
together with the barangay
A. singular captains, _______ hands with the
B. plural people”?
C. depending on what it refers to
A. shake
B. shakes
C. have shaken
 4

7. What is the correct form of the 11. The verb in the sentence
verb in the sentence, “Here ____ the “One-half of the cake ____
documents you’ve been chocolate-flavored” is
requesting”?
A. is
A. is B. are
B. isn’t C. aren’t
C. are
12. “Either Mary or Grace ___ the
8. What is the correct form of the food.”
verb in the sentence, “The toddlers
and their nannies ________ in the A. eat
playground”? B. eats
C. are eating
A. play
B. plays 13. “The people in the community
C. is playing ____ very eager to start the project.”

9. What is the correct form of the A. is

verb in the sentence “Somebody B. are
______”? C. has been

A. care 14. “Seven years ____ too short for a

B. cares good friendship”
C. caring
A. is
10. In the sentence, “Mumps _______ B. are
a dreaded disease”, the correct verb C. have been
is

A. is
B. are
C. have
 5

15. “Beauty ______ simplicity.” 19. Prepositional phrases between

the subject and the verb should not
A. mean interfere with the subject-verb
B. means agreement. In the sentence, “The
C. meaning girls of Class 2018 _____ fans of
Marvel Comics” the correct form of
16. “Raffy and Jun ________ to go on the verb is
vacation.”
A. is
A. plan B. are
B. plans C. has been
C. has planned
20. What is the subject in the
17. In the sentence, “My sister and sentence, “Captain America is my
best friend ______ me so much” the favorite Marvel comics character.
compound subject signifies only one
person. Therefore, the verb is A. Captain America
B. Marvel Comics
A. love C. character
B. loves
C. both A and B
SCORE
18. “Either Gelsy or Gracie _____ to
the store.”

A. go
B. goes
C. have gone
 6

Sentence vs.
Sentence Fragment

Every sentence contains a subject and a predicate, and

expresses a complete thought. The subject can be a noun
or a pronoun which tells who or what performs the
action. The predicate contains the verb that explains
what the subject does. Verbs express action or a state of
being.

Examples:

The puppies are playing.

Subject Predicate

The children eagerly wait for dessert.

Subject Predicate

A sentence fragment is a group of words without a

complete thought. In a sentence fragment, either the
subject or the predicate is missing, or sometimes both
the subject and predicate are missing. Another case of a
sentence fragment that is quite confusing is a
dependent clause. It has a subject and a verb but does
not express a complete thought.

Examples:

looks for her pencil case (subject is missing)

Kyle’s favorite movie (predicate is missing)
If you’re leaving (dependent clause)
 7

ACTIVITY Sentences and Sentence Fragments

Directions: Identify which among the items below are sentences or sentence
fragments. If it is a sentence, put a √ on the line provided. If it is a sentence
fragment, put an X.

Example: X 1. Regardless of what he says.

1. Please stay.

2. When she tells the truth.

3. The quiz last week was easier than today’s quiz.

4. Someone took my bag by mistake.

5. The policeman assists the old lady in crossing the street.

6. Scientists who are interested in developing safer methods.

7. Tootsie, together with her classmates.

8. I am not sure if I can come to the party.

9. Fried rice, barbeque and sunny-side-up eggs.

10. Raymond pretends that he is sleeping. Sentence:

These books
keep me
busy during
SCORE the weekend.

Sentence
Fragment:
These books
keep
 8

Did you know that subject and verbs have

an agreement too?

What is subject-verb agreement?

Agreement means that the parts of the

sentence work together; the verb agrees
with the subject in number (singular or
plural) and in person (first, second or third
person singular or plural).

Determining the right subject and verb is

the first step to avoid errors of subject-verb
agreement.

ACTIVITY Identifying Subjects and Verbs

Directions: For each of the following sentences, identify the subject and the verb.
Underline the subject once and the verb twice. Notice how the verb agrees with
the subject.

Example: The supervisor advises her to stay.

1. Everyone gets a grade of A.

2. Saree prepares dinner for the family.

3. The writer takes an alias.

4. The doctors give the treatment to the patient.

5. The results of the laboratory test are confidential.

SCORE
 9

WRITING PROMPT

Your sister will celebrate her 18th birthday next month.

You want to surprise her and make the celebration a
very memorable one. Write 10 sentences on how you
plan to celebrate (while observing social distancing).
Mind your subject verb agreement.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.
 10

Rules on Subject-Verb
Agreement
BASIC RULE

A singular subject (she, Meg, girl) takes a singular verb (is, studies, sings),
The singular form of the action verb is the –s form. A plural subject (they,
Meg and Dainty, girls) takes a plural verb (are, study, sing). The plural form
of the action verb is the base form of the verb.

Rule 1: Sometimes a prepositional phrase may come between the subject and the
verb of a sentence. Its presence can sometimes complicate subject-verb agreement.
The intervening phrase should be disregarded in choosing the correct form of the
verb. Don’t mind the object of the preposition. REMEMBER THAT THE VERB ONLY
AGREES WITH THE SUBJECT.

Incorrect: The books on the shelf belongs to my father.

Correct: The books on the shelf belong to my father.

Incorrect: The article from the newspapers are engaging.

Correct: The article from the newspapers is engaging.

What is a Prepositional Phrase?

A prepositional phrase is composed of a preposition, its object, and any
modifiers of the object. The object of the preposition can be a noun or
pronoun object.

Examples of prepositional phrase:

in the bag of the land

at the big house
after him preposition modifier noun (object of the preposition)

Examples of common prepositions:

in at on to from with
about above without within beside between
toward after by among under
 11

ACTIVITY Prepositional Phrases

Directions: The following sentences contain prepositional phrases. Put in brackets

the prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb, and underline the object
of the preposition.

Example: Many people [inside the stadium] are intent in watching the game.

1. Everyone in my house feels comfortable.

2. The sales agent of the properties talked excitedly with the clients.

3. The candidates for the election campaign every day.

4. All of the contestants appear nervous during the debate.

5. The students in the laboratory examine the parts of the frog.

SCORE

ACTIVITY Subject-Verb Agreement

Directions: Look for the subject in each sentence and write the correct form of the
verb inside the parenthesis that will agree with the subject.

Example: My son rides his new bike to school. (ride)

1. The young girls ________ to attend the party with their friends. (wish)

2. The employees ________ early for the breakfast meeting. (arrive)

3. The wild animals in the jungle ______ on the smaller animals. (prey)

4. The box of apples _____ so heavy (look).

5. The members of the club ______ food for the typhoon victims. (donate)

SCORE
 12

Rule 2: An intervening word or phrase such as including, like, plus, with,

accompanied by, along with, as well as, in addition to, one of, and together should be
disregarded in determining whether to use a singular or plural verb. The subject still
determines whether the verb is singular or plural in order to adhere to the
subject-verb agreement.

Incorrect: Aunt Grace, together with Davies and Dexter, attend the competition.

Correct: Aunt Grace, together with Davies and Dexter, attends the competition.

Incorrect: The members of the English Club, accompanied by the Chairman,

invites the new students to join.

Correct: The members of the English Club, accompanied by the Chairman,

invite the new students to join.

Rule 3: Two singular subjects connected by or, either…or, or neither… nor require a
singular verb. In cases however, when one subject is singular and the other is plural,
the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Examples:

My brother or my sister visits us every Sunday. (both subjects are singular)

Either my nephews or my niece attends the family reunion.

Neither the puppy nor the kittens like the food. (For compound subjects, the verb
agrees with the nearer subject)

Megan, as well as her

sisters, enjoys reading.

Megan's sisters, like her,

enjoy reading.
 13

ACTIVITY Fill in the Blanks

Directions: Fill in the blanks with an appropriate subject or verb to complete the
sentence. Mind your subject-verb agreement.

Example: Cesare, together with his friends, talks to Ms. Rose.

1. Neither the doctor nor his ________ is at home.

2. A ________ of apples is so heavy to carry.

3. The girls ________ the prizes for the parlor games.

4. _______ sends my sister a gift for her birthday.

5. Danielle, together with her friends, ________ every Saturday night.

6. The ________ respond immediately to the alarm.

7. Either Mary or _________ goes to the backstage for some autographs.

8. Lydia, together with her cousins, ________ to the cold weather in Japan.

9. The principal ________ a speech to welcome the students.

10. Either the tour guide or the ________ lead the way.

SCORE

Remember:
A singular subject
requires a singular
verb (-s form)
 14

Rule 4: As a general rule, a compound subject joined by and typically requires a

plural form of the verb; however, if it signifies only one person or thing, use a singular
verb.

Examples:

The vice president and the executive director of the company sign the
documents.

(The vice president and the executive director are two different persons.)

The vice president and executive director of the company signs the documents.

(The vice president and executive director signifies one person only.)

Rule 5: There are sentences that begin with here or there. Be careful in locating the
subject; the true subject follows the verb. Remember that here or there are not
subjects.

Examples: There are many games to

watch during the sports festival.
Here is my answer to the assignment.
Here is the list of events to
There are rules to be followed.
watch.
 15

ACTIVITY Subject-Verb Agreement

Directions: Write T if the sentence is correct; if not, encircle the word that makes it
incorrect and write the correct word on the blank provided.

Example: T 1. Millen sends the invitation letter.

receive 2. Joy and her sisters receives the invitation.

1. There is vacant apartments for our guests to stay.

2. The newly-baked cookies in the bakery shop smell delicious.

3. The director and scriptwriter narrate the sequel of the fantasy film.

4. The author and the director plans the storyline of their next project.

5. Here is the collection of Harry Potter books.

6. The critics and the movie goers like the latest Harry Potter movie.

7. Her boss and mentor motivate Karen to work well.

8. The manager and the assistant manager work overtime.

9. She orders me to organize her folders.

10. Here comes the dentist and her assistant.

SCORE Remember:
Here and there are
never subjects.

A compound
subject that
signifies the same
person or thing
requires a singular
verb.
 16

Rule 6: Indefinite pronouns such as each, those that end in -one (anyone,
everyone, someone, and one) and -body (anybody, somebody, nobody) are
always singular. The definite pronouns both, few, many, others, and several are
always plural.

Examples:

Everyone plans to spend time productively during the weekend.

Nobody is at fault. Each member does the assigned task.

Few employees report for work today.

Rule 7: With words that indicate portions such as percent, fraction, part, majority,
remainder, and the indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some –
look at object of the preposition in the prepositional phrase. Doing so will help you
determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is
singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:

Majority of the readers criticize the content of the magazine.

O. P
All of the milk tastes fresh.
O. P

Everyone is talking.

Nobody is listening.
 17

WRITING PROMPT

Review the sentences you wrote on page 10. Write an

invitation letter to your sister’s friends for the birthday
celebration (while observing social distancing). Be
sure to include sentences applying Rules 6 and 7 on
subject-verb agreement.
 18

Rule 8: Use singular verb for sums of money, periods of time and units of
measurement.

Examples:

Four years is a long time to work in another country.

Five hundred pesos is all that I have in my wallet.

Rule 9: Collective nouns such as team, staff, family, battalion, jury, herd, flock,
faculty, etc. can be either singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence.
Typically, they take the singular form, as the collective noun is treated as a cohesive
single unit.

Examples:

The team cheers for its players. The family enjoys the meal together.
(as a single unit – singular verb) (as a single unit – singular verb)

The team change their jerseys. The family argue over which food to buy.
(as individuals – plural verb) (as individuals – plural verb)

Rule 10: Titles of books, movies, novels, and other similar works are treated as
singular and take a singular verb.

Examples:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tells about a young princess
who was lost in the woods.

The Incredibles is a family-oriented movie.

Physics is my
favorite subject.
 19

ACTIVITY Collective Nouns

Directions: Identify if the subject is singular or plural and underline the correct form
of the verb that agrees with the subject.

Example: The committee (agree, agrees) to hold meetings every Friday.

1. The staff (buy, buys) coffee during their break time.

2. The faculty (support, supports) the program of the University.

3. The faculty (read, reads) different books to prepare their lesson.

4. The band (is, are) performing for the class reunion.

5. The band members (greet, greets) each other.

SCORE

ACTIVITY Fill in the Blanks

Directions: Fill in the blanks with an appropriate subject or verb to complete the
sentence. Mind your subject-verb agreement.

Example: A five-thousand reward awaits the lucky winner.

1. Two crumpled __________ bills lay on the floor.

2. ______________ is a long time to nap.

3. ______________ is how far I should jog to burn the fat.

4. Thirty minutes _______ good for walking.

5. ___________ is a heavy load to carry on the back.

SCORE
 20

Unit Test
Directions: Read each item carefully. Encircle the letter of the correct answer to
complete the sentence.

1. A plural verb is used when the subject is ____

A. singular
B. plural
C. adjective

2. Indefinite pronouns such as somebody, anybody, or nobody require _______ verbs

A. singular
B. plural
C. depending on what it refers to

3. Indefinite pronouns such as all or some require _________ verbs

A. singular
B. plural
C. depending on what it refers to

4. In the sentence, “Neither my sisters nor my mother ______ going to visit

you” the correct verb is
A. am
B. is
B. are

5. In the sentence, “There are books on the shelf”, the subject is

A. there
B. books
C. shelf

6. What is the correct form of the verb in the sentence, “The barangay captains,
together with the mayor, _______ hands with the people”?
A. shake
B. shakes
C. has shaken
 21

8. What is the correct form of the verb in the sentence, “The mommies and their
children ________ in the playground”?
A. play
B. plays
C. is playing

9. What is the correct form of the verb in the sentence “Nobody ______”?
A. care
B. cares
C. are caring

10. In the sentence, “Mumps _______ a dreaded disease”, the correct verb is
A. is
B. are
C. have been

11. The verb in the sentence “One-half of the cake” ____ chocolate-flavored” is
A. is
B. are
C. have been

12. “Either Claire or Dainty ___ the food.”

A. eat
B. eats
C. are eating

13. “The leader in the community ____ very eager to start the project.”
A. is
B. are
C. have been

14. “Seven years ____ is too short for a good friendship”

A. is
B. are
C. were

15. “Simplicity ______ beauty.”

A. mean
B. means
C. meaning
 22

16. “Connie and Ching ________ to go on vacation.”

A. plan
B. plans
C. has plans

17. In the sentence, “My best friend and sister ______ me so much” the compound
subject signifies only one person. Therefore, the verb is
A. love
B. loves
C. both a and b

18. “Either Dustine or Justine _____ to the store.”

A. go
B. goes
C. are going

19. Prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb should not interfere with
the subject-verb agreement. In the sentence, “The boys of Section 123 _____ fans of
DC Comics” the correct form of the verb is
A. is
B. are
C. has

20. What is the subject in the sentence, “Wonder Woman is my favorite superhero in
the DC Comics Universe.
A. Wonder Woman
B. superhero
C. DC Comics Universe

SCORE
 23

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