What is this skill?
Subject-verb agreement means the verb in a sentence matches how many things the subject is. One dog barks. Two dogs bark. The rule sounds small, but it changes how nearly every sentence is written. With a singular subject like she, Rex or Mateo, the verb usually takes an -s (walks, has, does). With a plural subject like they, we, the birds or the children, the verb stays plain (want, brush, sing, play).
In this practice the child fills in a blank, as in "My sisters ___ soccer on Saturdays" (play, plays or playing) or "She ___ to school every day." There are a few special cases. The verb to be changes for I (am), for a pair joined by and ("Jamal and Priya ___ best friends": are), and for words like everyone and each student, which are singular even though they sound like a crowd ("Everyone ___ ready for the trip"). The hardest questions include "The box of crayons ___ on the desk," where the nearby word crayons is a trap because the subject is the box. Two yes-or-no questions ask whether a sentence matches or does not match, such as "The boys runs fast."
Why it matters
Most children say agreement correctly in speech without thinking about it, until a tricky sentence arrives. Writing them down makes the rule visible, and the rule matters for every piece of writing a child will do, from a book report to an email.
Some children grow up hearing a form like "we was" or "he don't" at home, and that is a normal variation of how families speak. School writing asks for one particular version, and learning it as an extra tool, not a correction of home, helps a child keep both.
Agreement is also a quick way to learn how a sentence is built. To check the verb you have to find the subject, and finding the subject is the first step in understanding any sentence.
Common mistakes
- Matching the verb to the nearest noun and not the subject. In "The box of crayons ___ on the desk," crayons is plural but the box is the subject. Cross out the "of" phrase and read again.
- Using an -s verb with plural subjects, as in "The boys runs." A quick check: ask whether the subject is one or more than one. Boys is more than one, so the verb is run.
- Treating everyone and each as plural. Say "every one" or "each one" in your head and the singular verb sounds right.
- Using is or are with I. The one that works is am, and it is the only match for I.
How to help at home
- Play the one-or-many game. Point at something and ask "Is it one or many?" Then say a sentence about it: "The dog barks," "The dogs bark."
- Read a sentence aloud wrong on purpose and let your child catch it. Children enjoy correcting a parent, and they hear the mismatch.
- Use the hint from the practice: he, she and it take a verb with -s, and we, you and they do not.
- Ask for the subject first when your child is stuck. "Who or what is the sentence about?" gets them to the right word.
Worked examples
These are real questions from the Tutorsaurus subject-verb agreement practice, with the answers worked out.
Example 1
Which word fills the blank? They (blank) pizza for dinner.
They ___ pizza for dinner.
Choices: want, wants, wanting
Answer: want. They means more than one, so the verb is want.
Example 2
Does the verb match the subject?
The boys runs fast.
Answer: Does not match. Boys is plural, so it should be "The boys run fast."
Example 3
Which word fills the blank? The box of crayons (blank) on the desk.
The box of crayons ___ on the desk.
Choices: were, are, is
Answer: is. The subject is the box, not the crayons. One box is on the desk.
Printable worksheet (PDF) — one page of questions from this practice that work on paper, easier ones first, with an answer key on page 2. Free to print, no sign-up.