Subject Verb Agreement Lesson Plan for ESL Teachers and English Teachers

Subject-verb agreement is fundamental to clear writing, yet it’s a common stumbling block for students. Not only this students often get confused with a sheer number of rules and which one needs to be implemented when. If you are an ESL teacher planning to teach this topic to students and looking for a lesson plan? We have got you covered with a subject verb agreement lesson plan for ESL teachers and English teachers.

In this lesson plan, you will find out what subject ver agreement is, its rules and regulations which need to be followed, engaging activities, printable worksheets, and assessment tools, to help your students confidently apply this essential grammar rule.

Tips For Teaching English As a Second Language

What is Subject- Verb Agreement?

Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental grammatical rule in English that states that the verb in a sentence must agree in number with the subject. In simpler terms, this means that singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. 

Take a look at the basic structure that one needs to follow at the time of constructing sentences:

Singular Subject + Singular Verb The cat sits on the mat (cat= singular subject, sit= singular verb)  She is a doctor. (she = singular subject, is = singular verb)    Plural Subject + Plural Verb The cats sit on the mat. (cats = plural subject, sit = plural verb)    They are students. (they = plural subject, are = plural verb)

Having a basic understanding of the subject-verb agreement is important as it leads to clear and grammatically correct writing. Moreover, it helps one avoid confusion and ensures that your sentences are easy to understand. 

Let us look at some of the basic rules on this topic for preparing an effective subject verb agreement lesson plan for ESL teachers and English teachers.

Rule Category	Specific Role	Structure	Examples
Basic Agreement	Singular subject takes singular verb	Subject (Singular) + Verb (Singular)	The cat sits on the mat.
	Plural subject takes plural verb	Subject (Plural) + Verb (Plural)	The cats sit on the mat.
Compound Subjects	“and” joins subjects (usually)	Subject + and + Subject + Verb (Plural)	John and Mary are going.
	“and” joins subjects (one idea)	Subject + and + Subject + Verb (Singular)	Bread and butter is my favourite.
	“or”/”nor” joins singular subjects	Subject + or/nor + Subject + Verb (Singular)	The cat or the dog is sleeping.
	“or”/”nor” joins plural subjects	Subject + or/nor + Subject + Verb (Plural)	The cats or the dogs are sleeping.
	“or”/”nor” joins mixed subjects	Subject + or/nor + Subject + Verb (Agrees with closest)	The cat or the dogs are sleeping.
Indefinite Pronouns	Most are singular	Indefinite Pronoun (Singular) + Verb (Singular)	Everyone is here.
	Some can be singular or plural (some, all, any, most)	Depends on the noun they refer to	Some of the pie is gone. Some of the apples are rotten.
Collective Nouns	Singular (group as a unit)	Collective Noun + Verb (Singular)	The team is playing well.
	Plural (members acting individually)	Collective Noun + Verb (Plural)	The team are deciding on strategies.
Special Cases	Phrases between subject and verb	Subject + Phrase + Verb (Agrees with subject)	The book about cats is interesting.
	“There is/are”	There is/are + Subject	There is a cat. There are cats.
	Numbers/amounts (singular)	Number/Amount + Verb (Singular)	Five dollars is a lot.
	Numbers/amounts (plural)	Number/Amount + Verb (Plural)	Five dollars were found.
	Titles	Title + Verb (Singular)	“The Three Musketeers” is a classic.

Read more on the Subject-Verb Agreement here!

Subject Verb Agreement Lesson Plan for ESL Teachers and English Teachers

Once you have gone through the definition and the basic rules of the subject-verb agreement it’s time to go through the lesson plan on this topic. Keep in mind, that this subject verb agreement lesson plan is best for all English teachers who wish to teach students this topic. 

Lesson Plan: Subject-Verb Agreement Objectives: At the end of the lesson, students will be able to:Explain the rules for subject-verb agreement.Identify the subject and verb of a sentence.Produce sentences where the verb agrees with the subject, both orally and in writing.Correct errors in subject-verb agreement Student Background: This lesson is designed for an intermediate ESL grammar class at a pre-college language school. It is assumed that students have prior knowledge of:Present, past, and future tenseCountable and uncountable nouns Materials Required: TextbookIndex cardsPoster paperWhiteboard, computer, and projectorWorksheets with subject-verb agreement exercises Let’s begin with the subject verb agreement lesson plan: Before starting the subject-verb agreement lesson, the teacher must review countable and uncountable nouns with the students. Moving forward, they must connect nouns to subjects in sentences.  Introduction: Introduce the basic rule of subject-verb agreement: singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs.Write a simple sentence on the board (e.g., “The dog buries a bone.”).Ask students to identify the subject (who or what is doing the action) and the verb (the action itself).Underline the subject and circle the verb.Define “subject” and “verb” on the board for student reference.Write more sentences and have students identify the subject and verb. (Examples: “My cats chase mice,” “The kid runs home,” “Ants always eat my cookies.”) Presentation: Present subject-verb agreement rules using a PowerPoint presentation.Include sentences to assess students’ understanding of the rules. Through the process, ensure that you conduct guided activities such as: Engage students in activities to practice choosing the correct verb form.Worksheet Practice: Use subject-verb agreement worksheets.Relay Race: Divide the class into teams. Have teams correct subject-verb agreement errors on worksheets taped to the wall.Picture Prompts: Show pictures and have students create sentences using correct subject-verb agreement. Assessment: Review the main ideas of the lesson.Provide feedback on student performance.Answer any remaining questions. Homework: Review subject-verb agreement rules.Complete practice exercises

Also Read: 50 Examples of Uncountable Nouns in English

Activities Related to Subject-Verb Agreement for Students 

While teaching students ‘subject-verb agreement’, it is essential for English teachers to conduct various types of activities with students in the classroom to make learning more fun and interactive. Let us look at the list of activities (a part of the subject verb agreement lesson plan) which can be conducted:

1. Use a story with characters who have distinct personalities. Create cards with characters and actions. Students match the character with the correct verb.

2. Create cards with subjects and corresponding verbs. Students match the subject card with the correct verb card, emphasising the agreement.

3. Write subjects on one set of beanbags and corresponding verbs on another set. Students toss bean bags to each other, creating sentences by combining the subject and verb they catch.
4. Divide the class into teams. Place subject and verb cards at a distance. One student from each team runs to the cards, selects one subject and one verb, and forms a correct sentence before returning to the team.

5. Cut sentences into subject and verb fragments. Students work in pairs or small groups to assemble the puzzles and create complete sentences.

6. Use a picture and have students create sentences using correct subject-verb agreement.

Printable Worksheet on Subject Verb Agreement

After teaching students all the basic information on subject-verb agreement, it’s time to test their knowledge. For this, we have compiled a few questions which will be helpful for you. You can easily save and download this worksheet to include in your subject verb agreement lesson plan for ESL teachers and English teachers.

Also Read: Subject Verb Agreement Worksheet With Answers

Common Challenges Students Face with Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement can be tricky for students for a variety of reasons. Let us look at some of the most common challenges they face:

1. Identifying the Subject: 

• Phrases and clauses: Students might mistakenly think a word within a phrase or clause is the subject, rather than the actual subject of the sentence. For example, in “The books on the shelf are old,” they might think “shelf” is the subject, not “books.”
• Long and complex sentences: The longer and more complex the sentence, the harder it can be to find the true subject. Intervening phrases, prepositional phrases, and clauses can obscure it.
• Inverted sentences: In sentences that start with phrases like “There is/are” or “Here is/are,” the subject comes after the verb, which can confuse students.

2. Understanding Numbers:

• Collective nouns: Students often struggle with collective nouns (team, family, group, etc.) because they can be singular or plural depending on context.
• Indefinite pronouns: Pronouns like “everyone,” “someone,” “nobody,” etc., are singular even though they refer to a group, which can be counterintuitive.
• Compound subjects: Knowing when to treat compound subjects joined by “and” as singular or plural can be difficult. The “bread and butter” example is a classic point of confusion.

3. Irregular Verbs:

• Irregular verbs have unique forms in different tenses, and students need to memorise these. This adds another layer of complexity to subject-verb agreement.

4. Special Cases and Exceptions:

• “Either/or” and “neither/nor”: The rule that the verb agrees with the closest subject can be hard to remember.
• Numbers and amounts: Knowing when to treat amounts of money, time, or distance as singular or plural requires careful thought.
• Titles: Even if a title looks plural (like “The Three Musketeers”), it usually takes a singular verb.

5. Interference and Other Languages:

• Students whose native languages have different agreement rules might make errors based on those rules. 

6. Lack of Practice: 

• Like any grammar rule, subject-verb agreement requires consistent practice. Students who don’t get enough opportunities to use the rule in different contexts will struggle to master it.

Find more blogs on Learn English here!

Plural Nouns	Verb Cheat Sheet
Types of Verbs	Irregular Plural Nouns
Rules in Grammar	Verb Forms v1 v2 v3 v4 v5
Irregular Nouns	Plurals Quiz
Nouns vs Verbs	What are Linking Verbs?

FAQs

We hope this blog on Subject Verb Agreement Lesson Plan was informative and helped you improve your English skills. You can also follow the Learn English page of Leverage Edu for more exciting and informative blogs related to English grammar and the English language.