What is subject-verb agreement? - KS2 English

Matching the verb to the subject

A boy next to two thought bubbles. In one thought bubble is 1 car. In the other are two cars.

When you write or say a sentence, the verb and the subject must agree.

The verb in the sentence is the action word or being word.

The car drives slowly.

She is hungry.

The subject in the sentence is who or what does the action.

The car drives slowly.

She is hungry.

The subject can be singular, like ‘a car’, or plural, like ‘cars’.

The subject and verb must agree so your sentence makes sense.

The car moves fast.

The cars move fast.

If a sentence sounds wrong when you read it aloud, the subject and verb might not agree.

Understanding subject-verb agreement

Follow the steps in the activity below to learn how to find the verb and the subject in a sentence, and how to make sure they agree.

How to match a subject and a verb

When you write or speak, your sentences need to make sense.

To do this, the subject and the verb must match.

When you are writing in the present tense, the verb changes depending on whether the subject is singular (one person or thing) or plural (more than one person or thing).

When a subject is singular, the verb often ends with an -s.

There are some common exceptions to this rule, such as the verb 'to be'.

Singular subjects (one person or thing)	Plural subjects (more than one person or thing)
Malakai walks	Malakai and Olive walk
I am	we are
you are	you are
she, he, it is	they are

In the past tense, most verbs stay the same regardless of the subject. The main exception is the verb 'to be' and some helping verbs.

Singular	Plural
Malakai was	Malakai and Patch were
I was	we were
you were	you were
she, he, it was	they were

A quick way to check is to say the sentence out loud.

If it sounds wrong, your subject and verb probably don’t match.

Example 1

The verb and the subject must always agree. These sentences below have mistakes. Can you correct them?

a) Malakai and Olive was throwing the ball for Patch in the park.

b) They was enjoying their day out.

✓ Here are the correct sentences.

a) Malakai and Olive were throwing the ball for Patch in the park.

b) They were enjoying their day out.

In both sentences, the subjects are plural.

The subject and the verb don’t agree, because ‘was’ is used for singular subjects.

The verb needs to change to ‘were’.

Singular	Plural
He was	They were
Malakai was	Malakai and Olive were

Olive throwing the ball for Patch. Malakai stands next to her.

Example 2

Here is a sentence about Patch and Malakai. What is the correct missing verb in the sentence below?

Each of his days with Malakai _____ special because they’re best friends.

✓ Here is the correct sentence.

Each of his days with Malakai is special because they’re best friends.

The verb should be ‘is’.

The subject of the sentence here is ‘each’, which is singular.

Singular (one person or thing)	Plural (more than one person or thing)
I am	we are
you are	you are
she, he, it is	they are

Example 3

What is the subject of the sentence below?

Malakai’s collection of treats for Patch is hidden in the cupboard.

A jar of dog biscuits, with a label saying ‘Patch’s treats’.

Task

Two girls sitting at a table writing. There are 2 bowls on the table with labels, which say ‘subject’ and ‘verb’.

Subject–verb match-up game

Write 10 subjects on small pieces of paper and put them in one bowl. Try to make them a mix of singular and plural subjects, as well as some pronouns.

Write 10 verbs on other pieces of paper and put them in a second bowl.

Make them as creative, exciting or silly as you can!

Pick out one subject and one verb.

Your challenge is to write a full sentence that makes sense and uses a verb that agrees with the subject.

Example subjects:
the android, my socks, a giraffe, the fireworks, they

Example verbs:
dance, sneeze, wobble, sing, explode

Example sentence:
The android sneezes all over the laboratory.