Subject Verb Agreement Worksheets
All About These 15 Worksheets
Subject-verb agreement is one of those grammar rules that seems simple until you try writing a sentence and realize the subject and verb are giving each other the silent treatment. These worksheets step in to make sure your students learn how to pair subjects and verbs so they “get along” in every sentence. With a mix of fill-in-the-blank, matching, and error-spotting activities, kids get repeated practice that turns the rule from tricky to automatic.
Each worksheet in this collection gives students a slightly different lens to see the same concept. One day they might be circling the correct verb, the next they might be fixing broken sentences, and after that they could be building their own subject-verb pairs. That variety keeps the practice fresh while reinforcing the same important skill: matching the subject with the right verb form. By approaching it from multiple angles, students strengthen both recognition and correction skills.
And because these worksheets mimic the kinds of sentences kids actually encounter in reading and writing, the learning transfers directly into real life. Whether it’s writing a school essay, jotting a quick email, or telling a story, students will be more confident that their subjects and verbs are speaking the same language. Over time, they’ll not only write more clearly but also develop a sharp eye for editing, making them stronger communicators all around.
Have a Look Inside Each Worksheet
Grammar Checkpoint
Students fill in or choose subject-verb pairs to make sentences correct. It checks their understanding of who (subject) and what (verb) go together. Helps solidify the basic rule that singular subjects need singular verbs, plural need plural.
Harmonious Pairings
Learners match subjects with the correct verbs to form “harmonious” (agreeing) pairs. This builds awareness of matching number (singular/plural). It gives practice in seeing the agreement rule in action.
Verb Picker
Students “pick” the right verb form from options in each sentence. This type of exercise helps reinforce decision making under realistic contexts. Encourages focusing on subject-verb alignment rather than guessing.
In The Present
Focus is on subject-verb agreement in the present tense (e.g., “he walks,” “they walk”). Students apply the rule in the context of present habits or facts. Helps with mastering one of the common tenses in English grammar.
Check to Choose
This worksheet gives sentences where students must choose the correct verb form to agree with the subject. It may include distractors (incorrect forms) to challenge students. Builds accuracy and confidence.
Underline Your Choice
Learners underline or mark which verb they think is correct in each sentence. This visual marking helps with engagement and allows for easy checking. Supports reading comprehension + grammar simultaneously.
Agree Or Disagree
Students decide whether a given sentence is correct or incorrect in its subject-verb agreement, and possibly correct the errors. Helps learners spot mistakes, not just fill in blanks. Builds editing skills.
Subject Selectors
Here, the task is to identify the subject in a sentence first, then select the verb that matches. This reinforces that you can’t choose the verb until you know who/what the subject is. Strengthens understanding of sentence structure.
Pick And Circle
Students are given multiple choice options and circle the verb form that agrees. The circling adds a quick, low-pressure way to practice. Good for drills and reinforcement.
Fix And Revamp
Learners correct sentences that have subject-verb agreement errors. They “revamp” wrong sentences to make them grammatically correct. Encourages active correction and understanding of why errors occur.
Spotting The Right Match
This activity has students find subject-verb pairs that match across a list or set of sentences. It helps with pattern recognition. Students begin to see agreement even when the subject/verb are separated by other words.
Making Agreements
Similar to matching, this worksheet likely has students construct or choose subject-verb pairs that agree. It may include more difficult sentences where intervening words or clauses could confuse the agreement. Builds advanced awareness.
The Missing Piece
In sentences with missing verbs (or maybe missing subject-verb connections), students supply what’s missing so that subject and verb agree. It pushes learners to think of complete, correct sentences. Good for synthesis.
Fill In The Gaps
Gaps (blanks) in sentences require students to insert the correct verb form matching the subject. Classic exercise that reinforces verb form choices. Helps with both recognition and production.
Subject-Verb Harmony
Focuses on harmonious agreement between subject and verb, perhaps in more complex sentences (with phrases, clauses between subject and verb). Students practice ensuring agreement even when the sentence is tricky. Strengthens overall grammar skills in more realistic writing.
What is a Subject Verb Adjective?
Conflict in any form is disliked, even inside phrases! Every sentence must contain a subject and a predicate, as we all know, but they also need to be in agreement with one another. This is referred to as subject-verb agreement in the grammar field.
Subjects and verbs most frequently differ in number and tense, respectively. In the event that the subject is plural, the verb must likewise be plural. Similarly, if the subject is multiple, the verb must be plural as well. Although it appears obvious, things can get challenging when discussing time, money, indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, and interrupting expressions.
If you were to say, “They are fun,” using the plural subject they, you would say, “They are.” Additionally, if you were to say “She is enjoyable” using the singular she, you would also use the singular is. The subjects and verbs in “She are fun” and “they is fun” don’t agree. Hence those sentences make no sense.
When a verb agrees with the portion of the subject closest to the verb, when a compound subject has both a singular, and a plural noun connected by “nor” or “or” the verb should agree with both parts of the subject. This is also known as the proximity rule. For instance, the committee members or the student both write every day.
It might be challenging to determine whether a verb should be single or plural when it is so far removed from the sentence’s subject. Appositive phrases, prepositional phrases, and direct objects are frequently misunderstood as indicating the number of the verb. It’s not like that at all! Only the subject determines whether a verb is singular or plural.
For instance: One of the many popular actors in Hollywood, Dwayne Johnson, follows a rigorous exercise routine. Although the appositive word in this sentence includes the plural noun actors, the subject in this sentence, Dwayne Johnson, is still single. Hence the verb “has” must still be singular.
Singular and Plural
Use the verb form of the subject that is closest to the verb if one subject is single and the other is plural, and the words are joined by the letters “or,” “nor,” “not only/but also,” and “neither/nor.” The lion or the bears have gotten out of the zoo. Whenever there are multiple words connected with the help of a conjunction, the verb is singular if the subjects are both singular and are related by the terms. When the conjunctions “or,” “nor,” “neither/nor,” “either/or,” or “not only/but also” link two plural subjects, the verb is plural.
Finding the appropriate subject and verb will enable you to fix subject-verb agreement mistakes. A sentence containing the prefix of comes before a topic. The key to comprehending subjects is to follow this guideline. The culprit in many, if not most, subject-verb blunders is the word of. Hasty speakers or writers may fail to catch the following all-too-common error: Yellow roses in a bouquet provide color and scent to the space.
How To Identify Subject Verb Agreement?
To grammatically identify subject-verb agreement, one must first grasp the core concept: the subject and the verb in a sentence must match in number. In other words, if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. This seemingly simple rule is often complicated by the structure of sentences and the presence of additional words or clauses that may obscure the true subject of the sentence. To effectively identify subject-verb agreement, it’s essential to be able to locate the subject and the verb, determine whether the subject is singular or plural, and ensure that the verb agrees accordingly.
Step #1- Locate the Subject
The first step in identifying subject-verb agreement is to locate the subject of the sentence. The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. It is often, but not always, the noun that appears at the beginning of the sentence. Once you have identified the subject, the next step is to determine whether it is singular or plural. Singular subjects refer to one entity, while plural subjects refer to more than one. For example, in the sentence, “The cat runs across the yard,” the subject is “cat,” which is singular. Therefore, the verb “runs” is also singular, agreeing with the subject.
Step #2- Locate the Verb
The second step is identifying the verb, which describes the action or state of being of the subject. The verb must match the subject in number. In the case of a singular subject, a singular verb form is required, which often ends in “-s” in the present tense (as in “runs” or “walks”). Plural subjects, on the other hand, require verbs without the “-s” ending in the present tense (such as “run” or “walk”). Understanding this difference in verb forms is essential for ensuring agreement.
While subject-verb agreement might seem straightforward when the subject and verb are close together in a sentence, certain sentence structures can make the task more challenging. For example, prepositional phrases, clauses, or other intervening elements may come between the subject and verb, leading to confusion. These elements, however, do not affect the subject-verb relationship. To ensure proper agreement, it is important to focus only on the subject and the verb, ignoring any additional words that might complicate the sentence.
Consider the following example:
Example 1: “The bouquet of flowers is beautiful.”
In this sentence, the subject is “bouquet,” not “flowers.” The phrase “of flowers” is a prepositional phrase that modifies “bouquet,” but it does not change the number of the subject. “Bouquet” is a singular noun, so the verb “is” must also be singular to agree with the subject. This example illustrates how prepositional phrases can sometimes obscure the true subject of the sentence, but they should not distract from ensuring that the subject and verb are in agreement.
Another type of sentence structure that can complicate subject-verb agreement involves compound subjects. When two or more subjects are connected by “and,” they typically require a plural verb, as the combination of subjects creates a plural entity. However, when subjects are joined by “or” or “nor,” the verb must agree with the subject that is closest to it, which can lead to different verb forms depending on sentence structure.
Example 2: “Neither the teacher nor the students are responsible for the mistake.”
Here, we have a compound subject connected by “nor.” The verb must agree with the subject closest to it, which in this case is “students.” Since “students” is plural, the verb “are” is also plural. Had the sentence been structured differently, with “the students” appearing first, the verb would still have been plural. But if the singular subject “teacher” were closest to the verb, the sentence would read: “Neither the students nor the teacher is responsible for the mistake.”
By working through these examples, it becomes clear that identifying subject-verb agreement involves careful analysis of the sentence’s structure. Prepositional phrases and compound subjects are just two of the many elements that can complicate this process, but by focusing on the core relationship between the subject and verb, you can ensure that they agree in number. With practice, the rules of subject-verb agreement become easier to apply, leading to clearer and grammatically correct writing.