Hello, little word matcher! Do you know about buddies? Some things go together perfectly. Your two shoes are buddies. Your two socks are buddies. They match! Words have buddies too. In a sentence, the subject and the verb must be buddies. They must agree. This is called subject-verb agreement. It means the verb must match the subject. Today, we will make forty wonderful word buddy matches. Our guide is Buddy the Beaver. Buddy loves to match things and build things that fit together! He will show us subject-verb agreement at home, the playground, school, and by the river. Let's start matching!
What Is Subject-Verb Agreement? Subject-verb agreement is a word buddy match. The subject is the "who" or "what". The verb is the "action" or "state". They must be a good team. If the subject is one, the verb often gets a special sound. If the subject is more than one, the verb sounds different. They have to agree. At home, you say "The dog runs." One dog (subject) runs (verb with 's'). They match. You would not say "The dog run." That does not match. At the playground, you say "The swings move." More than one swing (subject) move (verb without 's'). They match. At school, you say "My teacher helps." One teacher helps. In nature, Buddy says "The river flows." One river flows. "Buddy builds a dam." One beaver (Buddy) builds. Learning these must-know agreements makes your sentences sound just right.
Why Do We Need Word Buddies? Subject-verb agreement makes your talking smooth! It helps your ears listen. Sentences sound correct and easy to understand. It helps your mouth speak. You will sound clear when you talk. "She is here" sounds better than "She are here." It helps your eyes read. You will see the correct matches in your books. It helps your hand write. You can write sentences that sound good. Matching buddies make your language strong and neat, like a well-built beaver dam.
What Are the Main Buddy Rules? We have a few simple buddy rules. They are about the number. Is the subject one (singular) or more than one (plural)?
For one person or thing (he, she, it, the dog, a cat): The verb often gets an 's' or 'es' sound. "He jumps." "She watches." "It fits." "The bird sings."
For more than one, or for "I", "you", "we", "they": The verb does not get that 's' sound. "They jump." "We watch." "I fit." "You sing." "The birds sing."
The verb "to be" is special. It has its own buddies: I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, they are. "I am big." "You are kind." "He is happy."
These are the main matches for your word buddies.
How Can You Check the Buddy Match? Checking the match is a two-step game. First, find the subject. Ask "Who or what is doing the action?" Is it one or more than one? Next, look at the verb. Does it sound right with the subject? Say it out loud. Does it sound funny? "The cats climbs." That sounds funny. One cat climbs. Two cats climb. Your ear can help! Look at Buddy's sentence. "Beavers build." The subject "Beavers" is more than one. The verb "build" matches. It sounds right. Another trick: Try to replace the subject with "he" or "they". "He builds" needs an 's'. "They build" does not.
How Do We Make Our Word Buddies Match? Making buddies match is about knowing your subject. Use this simple guide. If the subject is HE, SHE, IT, or a singular noun, add 's' to the verb (usually). Formula: He/She/It + Verb-s. "She plays." If the subject is I, YOU, WE, THEY, or a plural noun, use the verb without 's'. Formula: I/You/We/They + Verb (no 's'). "They play." For the verb "to be", memorize the buddies: I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, they are. Buddy uses this. "Buddy works hard." One beaver, so verb gets an 's'. "The other beavers work too." More than one, so no 's'.
Let's Fix Some Mixed-Up Buddies. Sometimes we pair the wrong buddies. Let's fix them. A common mix-up is with the verb "to be". A child might say "I is three." This is a mismatch. The buddy for "I" is "am". The right way is "I am three." Another mix-up is forgetting the 's' for he/she/it. "She like apples." This needs an 's'. "She likes apples." Also, remember that a singular noun like "The dog" needs a verb with 's'. "The dog bark" should be "The dog barks." Listen to what sounds right.
Can You Be a Match Maker? You are a great match maker! Let's play a game. The "Buddy Match" game. I will say a subject. You give me the matching verb. Subject: "He". Verb: "runs" (He runs). Subject: "They". Verb: "run" (They run). Great! Here is a harder challenge. Take a sentence and change the subject from one to more than one. "The flower blooms." Change to: "The flowers bloom." You changed the verb to match! You are using must-know subject-verb agreement.
Your Matching Chart of 40 Must-Know Subject-Verb Agreements. Ready to see the matching chart? Here are forty perfect word buddy pairs. Buddy the Beaver has made them. They are grouped by the subject. These are your must-know agreements.
With HE, SHE, IT (One). He runs. She jumps. It shines. He eats. She drinks. It sleeps. He sees. She hears. It fits. He wants.
With THEY, WE, YOU, I (More than one or special). They run. We jump. You shine. I eat. They drink. We sleep. You see. I hear. They fit. We want.
With THE BOY, THE GIRL, THE DOG (Singular Noun). The boy plays. The girl reads. The dog barks. The baby cries. The cat purrs. The bird flies. The car goes. The bell rings. The sun sets. The door closes.
With THE BOYS, THE GIRLS, THE DOGS (Plural Noun). The boys play. The girls read. The dogs bark. The babies cry. The cats purr. The birds fly. The cars go. The bells ring. The stars twinkle. The doors close.
With the verb TO BE (Special Buddies). I am happy. You are nice. He is here. She is smart. It is big. We are friends. They are here. The dog is fluffy. The cats are sleepy. The toys are fun.
These forty sentences are your must-know subject-verb agreements. Practice them. Make sure your word buddies always match!
Building Sentences That Sound Just Right. You did it! You are now an expert on subject-verb agreement. You know that the subject and verb must be buddies. They must agree in number. You know the basic rules for he/she/it and for I/you/we/they. You can check a match by listening to what sounds right. Buddy the Beaver uses subject-verb agreement to build strong sentence dams. Now you can too! Your sentences will be clear and correct. You will be a master word matcher.
Here is what you can learn from our matching adventure. You will know what subject-verb agreement is. You will understand the basic rules for singular and plural subjects. You can identify when a subject and verb do not match. You can correct common agreement mistakes. You have a chart of forty essential subject-verb agreement examples.
Now, let's do some life practice! Your mission is today. Listen to your own sentences. Are your word buddies matching? Tell your grown-up: "My mom is funny. My dad is tall. My toys are cool." You matched "is" with singular "mom" and "dad", and "are" with plural "toys"! Keep making perfect word buddy matches. Have fun, little matcher!