Subject-Verb Agreement With Tricky Subjects

Have students underline the subject before choosing the verb. Use the rule box on the compound subject sheet as a reference.

Circle the verb that agrees in 14 sentences with tricky subjects like There is and The box of old photos. A verb agrees with its subject even when a phrase comes between them or the subject comes after the verb. The directions on the page read: Find the subject of each sentence. Circle the verb in parentheses that agrees with it. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade verbs, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with noun-verb agreement. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

Cross out the phrase. In The keys to the shed hang by the back door, the subject is keys, so the verb is hang.

Find the subject after the verb. There are three eggs left takes are, and There is a spider in the bathtub takes is.

Subjects joined by and take a plural verb. With or or neither nor, the verb agrees with the closer subject, as in Neither my sisters nor my dad likes spicy food.