Lesson 21 [header]

Subject/Verb Agreement and Possessives [header]

[GLCE: W.GR.03.01]

Getting the Idea… [header]

The subject of a sentence is a lot like point of view. The subject is the part of a sentence that does something. The subject is always a noun. A noun is a person, place, or thing.

The part of a sentence that shows or tells what is being done is called the verb. A verb is also called an action word. The subject and verb of a sentence always agree with each other. This means that they both show the same amount. The amount can be one, or more than one. When the subject and verb are both one, this is called singular. When they are both more than one, this is called plural.

As you can tell from the sentences in the charts below, subject/verb agreement is very easy to remember, because there is only one exception! Can you spot the one that is different from all the others?

present tense
	singular	plural
first person	I walk.	We walk.
second person	You walk.	You walk.
third person	She walks.	They walk.

past tense
	singular	plural
first person	I walked.	We walked.
second person	You walked.	You walked.
third person	She walked.	They walked.

The sentence that is different from all the others is “She walks.” This is because she is a third person subject, in the singular—which means, just one—and the verb is in the present tense, which means that it is happening now. This is called the one ess rule: The only time you add an –s to the end of a verb is when the subject/verb agreement is third person, singular, and present tense. If the subject was he or it, and you were referring to something that is happening now, you would also add an –s to the verb, because both he and it are third person and singular.

Here is a checklist in case you are not sure if you should put an –s on the end of a verb.

___ Can you replace the person, place, or thing that is doing something, with he, she, or it? (Or: Is the subject third person?)

___ Is there only one thing doing something? (Or: Is the subject singular?)

___ Is what is being done, being done now? (Or: Is the verb in the present tense?)

If you put a check next to ALL THREE, then put an –s on the end of the verb. This is because the subject/verb agreement is third person, singular, and present tense. If you only checked two, or one, or none at all, then do NOT put an –s on the end of the verb.

Another kind of –s you can put on the end of a word is called an apostrophe –s, or a possessive. Possessive means that something belongs to something or someone else. But you put this kind of –s on the noun, and NOT the verb. You put the possessive on the noun that owns something. The possessive, or ’s, is sort of like his, her, and their.

Your teacher will review subject/verb agreement and possessives with you.

[Guided Example]

[DIRECTIONS]

Read this passage and answer the questions that follow.

Sheila and Jared were talking about stories to write about for class. Sheila told Jared about the time she and her parents took her dog to the dog run. Before they got there, though, the leash got pulled from Sheila’s hand. Her dog chased a squirrel. The squirrel was much faster, and ran up a tree.

“Why don’t you write it from the dog’s point of view?” Jared said.

“That’s a great idea,” Sheila said. “I’ll call it: Dog ALMOST Bites Squirrel’s Tail!”

[Thinking it Through . . .]

1 In the sentence, “Her dog chased a squirrel,” which word is the subject ?

A chase

B dog

C squirrel

D her

[Hint]

The subject is the word that does something.

2 In the sentence, “Dog ALMOST Bites Squirrel’s Tail,” which word has a possessive –s on it?

A tail

B almost

C squirrel

D bite

[Hint]

The possessive goes on the noun that owns something.

[Lesson Practice]

[Guided Reading]

[DIRECTIONS]

Read the story below. While you are reading, think about how the subjects and verbs of the sentences work together, and also about who owns what.

Dog ALMOST Bites Squirrel’s Tail

My name is Babur. I’m Sheila’s dog. I love Sheila and Sheila loves me. I want to go to the dog run. I walk over to where my leash is, and I pick it up in my mouth. I bring the leash to Sheila. This way, she knows that I want to go to the dog run. She hooks the leash to my collar and out we go. Sheila wants to walk, but I want to run. We decide to jog. But I see a squirrel! I run fast to catch it. I run too fast for Sheila. The leash falls out of Sheila’s hand. But the squirrel runs too fast for me. It runs up a tree. That squirrel sure is lucky. I almost bit its tail!

[Reading Guide]

Even though this story is told from the first person point of view, there are some sentences with a third person subject.

[Reading Guide]

All but one of the verbs are in the present tense.

[Reading Guide]

The word its is a special form of the possessive that does NOT use an apostrophe. You can discuss it with your teacher.

[43MI_CH4_L21_A01: dog holding leash in mouth]

[INDEPENDENT PRACTICE]

Answer the questions below.

1 In the sentence, “I run too fast for Sheila,” which word is the subject?

A Sheila

B fast

C run

D I

2 The subject of the sentence, “I bring the leash to Sheila,” is in the first person singular. How would you rewrite this sentence to make the subject third person singular?

A Babur bring the leashes to Sheila.

B Babur brings the leash to Sheila.

C Babur bring the leash to Sheila.

D Baburs bring the leash to Sheila.

3 The sentence, “I almost bit its tail,” is in the past tense. How would you rewrite this sentence to make it present tense?

A I almost bites its tail.

B I almost bit its tails.

C I almost bite its tail.

D I almosts bites its tail.