Simulated Demo for English Grammar-Subject Verb Agreement (Detailed Lesson Plan-Secondary Level) Prepared by: Prof. J. Manglib I.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of the discussion, the students should be able to: explain the rules of Subject – Verb Agreement; construct their own sentences using correct Subject – Verb Agreement participate in the class discussion actively
II.
SUBJECT MATTER: Topic: English Grammar -Subject Verb Agreement Outline: a. What is Subject Verb Agreement? b. Different SVA rules and examples
References: Books/Instructional Materials: 1. Grammar Made Easy by Nerissa Mendoza 2. Morenberg, Max (2016). Doing Grammar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1997-3288-3. 3. Gideon Goldenberg, "On Verbal Structure and the Hebrew Verb", in: idem, Studies in Semitic Linguistics, Jerusalem: Magnes Press 2014, pp. 148–196 [English translation; originally published in Hebrew in 2013. 4. Klaiman, M. H., Grammatical Voice (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics), Cambridge Univ. Press, 2015.
Materials Needed: Chalk /white board, projector book, pictures and papers visual aids (PowerPoint Presentation- Slideshow)
III.
PROCEDURES
A. Motivation: Teacher’s activity
Student’s activity
g prayer Preparatory Activity The students stand up for a prayer
ng Prayer “Class may we all stand for a short prayer?” “Anyone can lead us a short prayer? (The teacher calls a student to give a short prayer. Then after the short prayer, the teacher greet the students) Greetings “Start your day with a good smile? “How‟s your day?” “Good morning Class?” Checking of Attendance “May I ask the class secretary to check the attendance for today? ii. Greetings
We are fine Good morning ma‟am?
(The class secretary check the attendance) None, Ma‟am
“How many are absent today?” “Very good” Yes Ma‟am! “Before we start our discussion, make sure that your chairs are properly aligned according to your row. Everybody sit down and minimize unnecessary noise so that we can have a better interaction, ok?” Motivation: Really ma‟am, we loved to play that ma‟am
“What is the 7 letter word being portrayed in this picture?”
Wait ma‟am, (The students trying to guess the picture)
(Students Raising their hands) “Yes anyone who can give the word being portrayed by the flashed picture?” SUBJECT ma‟am “Yes Cathy? “ “Very Good! You got the correct answer. But how did you guessed that word?”
I guessed that it is the word SUBJECT because all of the given pictures are related to our subject areas like Math, English, Filipino and Science.
“That‟s very good observation” second set of Pictures…
The word is VERB ma‟am Now can you guess the picture Anne?
Thank you ma‟am
Excellent, You‟re right Anne? Here is the third set of pictures…
AGREEMENT ma‟am? Yes Samantha, can you give me the answer. What‟s the word portrayed by this picture? Brilliant Samantha. Correct! Did you enjoy?
Yes Ma‟am
PRESENTATION: Today , we will be discussing about English grammar specifically the Subject Verb Agreement Rules “Are you ready Class?”
Yes, we are ready ma‟am?
“Alright! Let‟s begin…..”
LESSON PROPER: Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical rule, which states that the subject and the verb must agree in a sentence. The subject normally refers to the noun or pronoun that tells us whom or what the sentence is about. A verb normally has a singular and plural form in the present tense. The third person singular of the verb usually ends in „s‟. some auxiliary verbs also have singular and plural forms in the present tense. „Be‟ has singular and plural forms in the past tense as well as the present tense. Other verbs that also change their forms in both the singular and plural. Below is a table showing some examples: AUXILIARY VERB SINGULAR PLURAL Be(present)
is
are
Be(past )
was
were
Do
does
do
Have
has
have
The verbs „be‟, „do‟ and „have‟ can also be used as main verbs as in the following: MAIN VERB
AUXILIARY VERB
I am happy.
I am going to town.
I have a new pair of shoes.
I have finished my work.
(The students listen )
I did my work in the morning.
I did try my best
“Do you understand class?” Now Class, the subject must agree in number.
Yes ma‟am! Students react
“Anyone of you here knows at least 15 SVA rules?” “Nobody knows?” “Ok, no problem! “ “ I will discuss thoroughly” “Please listen carefully” Class in order to choose the correct verb form; you must first locate the subject. All you have to do is to find the subject of the verb, work out its pronoun substitute, and then apply the present tense verb rule. In some sentences, a phrase comes between the subject and the verb. In others it comes after the verb. PHRASE BETWEEN THE SUBJECT AND VERB – A prepositional phrase that modifies a subject usually comes between the subject and predicate. Examples: 1. The list of candidates is posted on the notice board. 2. The morale of the workers is high. 3. Acres of farm land were destroyed by the fire. The verb agrees with the subject of the sentence, not with the object of the preposition in the above sentences SUBJECT AFTER THE VERB– In questions and in sentences that begin with „here‟ or „there‟, a subject comes after the verb. Examples: 1. Where is my pen? 2. Have you seen them? 3. Here are your bags. 4. There are three letters in your box.
COMPOUND SUBJECTS - These refer to two or
The students Listen carefully
more subjects connected by a coordinating conjunction. In most cases, both subjects have the same verb. Use plural verbs with most compound subjects connected by „and‟. Example: 1. My mother and my aunt prefer Filipino dishes. 2. The teacher and Jenny were busy yesterday. Use a singular verb with a compound subject that refers to one person or thing or to something that is general considered a unit. Examples: 1. My team mate and friend is coming. 2. Rice and beans is a popular dish in Sierra Madre. 3. Crying and weeping does not help to solve the problem. With compound subject joined by „or‟ or „nor‟ (or by either… or, or neither… nor) the verb always agrees with the subject near the verb. Singular 1. Either the adults or the child is listening. 2. Neither the students nor the teacher is present. Plural 1. Neither the teacher nor students are listening. 2. Either the adult or the children are present. COLLECTIVE NOUNS AS SUBJECT A collective noun names a group of people or objects; for example team, class, congregation, audience, band, club, etc. If a collective noun refers to a group as a single unit, use a singular verb. If on the other hand a collective noun refers to individual members of a group use a plural verb. Examples: Singular 1. The team plays well.(in the act of play, they all coordinate as a single group.) 2. The family loves to travel.(everybody loves it-one unit) Plural 1. The team lodge at different hotels.
The students Listen carefully
2. The family takes turn choosing places to visit. SPECIAL NOUNS Most nouns that end in „s‟ are plural. However there are some nouns that end in „s‟ that plural in form but singular in meaning because they refer to a single thing. For example news, mathematics, measles, mumps. Example: 1. Measles is now an epidemic in our area. 2. Mathematics is the study of figures. 3. The news was interesting. Certain other nouns that end in „s‟ such as scissors, pants, binoculars, and eye glasses take plural verbs. Examples: 1. These binoculars are new. 2. The scissors were made in the Philippines NOUNS OF AMOUNT When a noun refers to an amount that is considered one unit, it is singular. When it refers to a number of individual units, it is plural Singular Five Thousand Leones is the cost. (one unit) Plural Seven Thousand Pesos are in her pocket. (Individual Peso bills) Please take note class; Whenever you want to construct a grammatical sentence in English, you first of all have to identify the subject and see whether it agrees with the verb. This is because in every grammatical sentence, the subject must agree with its verb.
Always remember this class… Subjects and verbs must agree in number. • Singular subject = singular verb • Plural subject = plural verb
Example;
• •
Cow= singular, eats= singular Ducks= plural, quack= plural
Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb. Example: The detective who was called to the case is usually very good Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect the agreement. Example: The biker in this race is very competitive. The bikers in this race are very competitive If a sentence starts with “there” or “ here”, the subject will always be placed after the verb. Example: There is a meeting today. Here are the results from this past month. Subjects can come after the verb in questions. Example: Does Letty always play with dolls? How are the ice cream sticks today? If two subjects are joined by they typically require a plural verb. Example: The puppy and the lady are friends.
“and”,
If two subjects are separated by “and” refer to the same thing, the verb is singular. Example: Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite pasta dish If both subjects are singular and connected by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or and not only/but also, the verb is singular. Examples: • Sally or Bubba has stolen the scarecrow. • Not only the guitar player but also the drummer was soaked with sweat.
If both subjects are plural and connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural. Example: Cookies or brownies are nice treats for your teacher If one subject is singular and one plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, use the subject that is nearest the verb. • Either my sisters or my mom has sent me a flower. • Not only Bob but also the Smiths want some hamburgers for supper. Units of measurement usually use a singular verb Example: • Six gallons of paint was used on the house. • Five dollars is too much for a cup of coffee. Collective nouns usually take a singular verb The person is hurrying. The class was ready for the test. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular • Titanic was one of my favorite books. Two infinitives separated by and take a plural verb • To run and to read are my two favorite “Free-time” activities. Gerunds alone take a singular verb. Gerunds linked by and take a plural verb Example • Dancing is not something everyone can do as well as I can! If the words each, every or no come before the subject, the verb is singular Examples: • Each boy and girl has to take the test. • Every frog and toad turns into a prince.
• No paper and pen is required. (But an apple would be nice!:) • Dancing and singing come naturally to me! Most indefinite pronouns take singular verbs Little One * Everybody is happy. Another Neither * No one has a dime. Much Either * Nothing was going to help. Each Both, few, many, others, and several take a plural verb Several need to finish the race. A few have the right answer When the subject is all, any, more, most, none, or some, this is the ONLY time you must look at the object of the prepositional phrase to determine whether it is singular or plural. Examples: All of the chickens have laid eggs. Some of the milk has spilled Remember class, only the SUBJECT affects the verb! Therefore in general: If the Subject is Singular , the Verb should be Singular “Now, Did you understand the basic of Subject Verb Agreement?”
Yes ma‟am!
“Do you have any questions or clarifications regarding our topic for today? No student asking questions seems they understand the topic
Yes ma‟am
“class, be ready for a short quiz about our topic today” “bring out your black or blue pen and answer the questions correctly” (The teacher give the questionnaires to the students) “Class, get one and pass it on ” “You are only given 3-5 minutes to answer the 10 items correctly” (After 5 minutes, the students already done) “Ok class; please pass your paper without making noise? “I‟ll give it back to you your paper next meeting so you will know your scores”
“Class for your Assignment ; Assignment Correct the mistakes in the following sentences in relation to subject-verb agreement. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Our teacher comes and teach every day. They was in class when I called. Their father are a doctor. Neither the student, nor the teacher are ready. Chicken and chips are a common dish in Ghana. The jury was not able to agree. The team wears their kit. Many a cook and waiter work very late.
Yes ma‟am Yes ma‟am
9. My shoes is under the table. 10. Only not only the students, but also the teacher were late. “That‟s all for today and see you again next meeting. Good bye class?”
IV.
Good bye ma‟am?
EVALUATION: Short follow up quiz Answer in Ten Minutes A. Write the subject and the correct form of the verb in the following sentences 1. He (listen, listens) to the still air. 2. Clouds (float, floats) lazily in the sky. 3. One bird (begin, begins) to sing a song. 4. It (inspire, inspires) other birds to sing. 5. The flock (continue, continues) to sing. 6. Both (notice, notices) Paz‟s arrival. 7. The distant mountains (appear, appears) blue. 8. There (is, are) a few clouds hanging overhead. 9. Paz (wants, want) to talk with Frost. 10. There (is, are )the sound of water running. 11. (Do, Does) Paz enjoy the sound of the water? 12. Here (is, are) Frost‟s cabin at the top of the hill. 13. (Do, Does) Frost‟s cabin seem remote? 14. Where (is, are) the wooly dog and his master? 15. Both the work of young poets and the work of philosophers (interests, interest) him. B. Give at least 5 verbs and use it in a sentence using the Subject-Verb Agreement Rules 1.____________________________________________________________________ 2.____________________________________________________________________ 3.____________________________________________________________________ 4.____________________________________________________________________ 5.____________________________________________________________________ V. ASSIGNMENT Read our next lesson about tenses of the verb on pp.143 by Morenberg, Max (2016). Doing Grammar (Third ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1997-3288-3. Comments and Evaluation: ______________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by: Prof. J. Manglib Presentor
