English Language Arts
Grade 3
15 min
Is the subject singular or plural?
Is the subject singular or plural?
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Introduction & Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
Identify the subject of a simple sentence.
Define the terms 'singular' and 'plural'.
Determine if a subject is singular or plural.
Identify singular verbs that end in -s or -es.
Identify plural verbs that do not end in -s or -es.
Match a singular subject with a singular verb in a sentence.
Match a plural subject with a plural verb in a sentence.
Have you ever heard someone say, 'The cats sleeps on the mat'? It sounds a little funny, right? 🤔 Let's learn why!
Today, we are going to learn about sentence teams! We will learn how to find the team captain (the subject) and make sure its action word (the verb) matches perfectly. This is called subject-verb agreement, and it makes our writing and speaking sound correct.
Re...
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Key Concepts & Vocabulary
TermDefinitionExample
SubjectThe person, place, or thing that a sentence is about. It's the 'who' or 'what' doing the action.In the sentence 'The dog barks,' the subject is 'The dog'.
VerbAn action word. It tells what the subject is doing.In the sentence 'The dog barks,' the verb is 'barks'.
SingularThis word means only ONE of something.One 'cat', one 'boy', one 'house'.
PluralThis word means MORE THAN ONE of something.Two 'cats', many 'boys', several 'houses'.
Singular SubjectA subject that is only one person, place, or thing.In 'The bird sings,' the subject 'The bird' is singular.
Plural SubjectA subject that is more than one person, place, or...
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Key Rules & Conventions
The Singular Subject Rule
Singular Subject + Verb with -s or -es
When the subject is just one person, place, or thing, the verb that shows the action usually ends with an -s or -es. Think 'Singular = S'.
The Plural Subject Rule
Plural Subject + Verb with NO -s
When the subject is more than one, the verb does not get an -s at the end. The 's' is already on the subject (like in 'dogs'), so the verb doesn't need one.
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Challenging
Read this tricky sentence: "Neither the players on the team nor the captain knows the final score." The verb "knows" agrees with the part of the subject closest to it. Is that part of the subject ('captain') singular or plural?
A.Singular, because 'captain' is singular.
B.Plural, because 'players' is plural.
C.Plural, because there is a captain and players.
D.Singular, because 'team' is singular.
Challenging
In which of these sentences is the subject PLURAL?
A.The bag of shiny marbles is heavy.
B.There is a big dog in the yard.
C.My friends and I are going to the library.
D.Each of the cars has new tires.
Challenging
Sometimes the subject is hidden at the end of a sentence. Read this: "Around the corner race the two fast bicycles." What is the subject, and is it singular or plural?
A.corner (singular)
B.race (plural)
C.bicycles (singular)
D.bicycles (plural)
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