Subject–Verb Agreement — One-Page Notes

📘 Subject--Verb Agreement --- One-Page Notes

The subject determines the verb form · Singular with singular, plural with plural · There is/are and There was/were

1️⃣ What is a Subject and a Verb?

Element	Definition	Example
Subject	The person, thing, or idea that does the action in a sentence.	She likes coffee.
Verb	An action word.	She likes coffee.

2️⃣ Core Rule: Singular Subject + Singular Verb; Plural Subject + Plural Verb

✅ Singular Subject

he, she, it, or one person/thing

In the present simple, the verb usually takes -s / -es.

He works every day.
June likes learning English.
She goes to school by bus.

✅ Plural Subject

they, we, you, or multiple people/things

Do not add -s / -es to the main verb; use the base form.

They work every day.
The schools open at 7 AM.
We like English.

3️⃣ There is / There are (Present Tense)

Structure	Followed by	Example
There is	Singular noun	There is a problem.
		There is one student in the room.
There are	Plural noun	There are several problems.
		There are a lot of students in the room.

⚠️ There is a growing problem with pollution. (singular)

⚠️ There is a significant difference between the two options. (singular)

4️⃣ There was / There were (Past Tense)

Structure	Followed by	Example
There was	Singular noun	There was a problem.
		There was a time when people didn't use smartphones.
There were	Plural noun	There were many problems.
		There were many reasons why I chose this university.

5️⃣ Quick Reference Table

Tense	Singular	Plural
Present	There is + singular	There are + plural
Past	There was + singular	There were + plural
General verbs	Subject + verb -s/-es	Subject + base verb

6️⃣ Common Mistakes

Wrong	Correct	Reason
He work every day.	He works every day.	Singular subject + verb takes -s.
They works every day.	They work every day.	Plural subject + base verb.
There is many problems.	There are many problems.	Plural noun takes are.
There was many reasons.	There were many reasons.	Plural noun takes were.
The school open at 7 AM.	The school opens at 7 AM.	Singular subject + -s.
The schools opens at 7 AM.	The schools open at 7 AM.	Plural subject + base verb.

✅ One-Sentence Summary

If the subject is singular, the verb takes the singular form (add -s/-es in the present simple); if the subject is plural, the verb uses the base form.

There is / was takes a singular noun; There are / were takes a plural noun.

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Teacher's Script: Subject--Verb Agreement

Time: About 8--10 minutes

Level: Beginner to Elementary

Topic: Subject--Verb Agreement --- singular/plural, there is/are, there was/were

1. Greeting and Warm-up (1 minute)

Teacher:

Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to learn about subject--verb agreement .

This means the subject and the verb in a sentence must match.

First, let's review two important words: subject and verb.

The subject is the person, thing, or idea that does the action.
The verb is the action word.

Look at this sentence: She likes coffee.

Who is the subject?

(Students: She.)

What is the verb?

(Students: likes.)

Good. She is singular, and likes ends with -s. That is subject--verb agreement.

Today we will learn the rules for singular and plural subjects, and also for there is / there are and there was / there were.

2. Singular and Plural Subjects (2 minutes)

Teacher:

Let's start with the basic rule.

(Write on the board.)

Singular subject → singular verb

Plural subject → plural verb

In the present simple, a singular verb usually takes -s or -es.

Look at these examples:

Singular:

He works every day.

June likes learning English.

She goes to school by bus.

Here, the subjects are he, June, she --- all singular.

The verbs are works, likes, goes --- all with -s or -es.

Now look at plural subjects:

Plural:

They work every day.

The schools open at 7 AM.

We like English.

Here, the subjects are they, the schools, we --- all plural.

The verbs are work, open, like --- no -s.

(Point to the board.)

So remember:

He works. They work.

She likes. We like.

Let's repeat together:

He works every day.

They work every day.

She likes English.

We like English.

(Students repeat.)

3. There is / There are (1.5 minutes)

Teacher:

Now let's look at a very common structure: There is and There are.

We use There is with a singular noun .

We use There are with a plural noun.

(Write on the board.)

There is + singular noun

There is a problem.

There is one student in the room.

There are + plural noun

There are several problems.

There are a lot of students in the room.

Teacher:

Look at these two sentences:

There is a growing problem with pollution.

Here, a growing problem is singular, so we use is.

There is a significant difference between the two options.

Here, a significant difference is singular, so we use is.

If the noun is plural, we must use are .

For example: There are many reasons.

Let's repeat:

There is a problem.

There are many problems.

There is one student.

There are a lot of students.

(Students repeat.)

4. There was / There were (1 minute)

Teacher:

Now let's change to the past tense.

(Write on the board.)

There was + singular noun

There was a problem.

There was a time when people didn't use smartphones.

There were + plural noun

There were many problems.

There were many reasons why I chose this university.

Teacher:

So the rule is the same:

was for singular, were for plural.

Repeat after me:

There was a problem.

There were many problems.

There was a time.

There were many reasons.

(Students repeat.)

5. Common Mistakes (1 minute)

Teacher:

Let's correct some common mistakes. I will say the wrong sentence. You say the correct one.

Wrong: He work every day.

Correct: He works every day.
Wrong: They works every day.

Correct: They work every day.
Wrong: There is many problems.

Correct: There are many problems.
Wrong: There was many reasons.

Correct: There were many reasons.
Wrong: The school open at 7 AM.

Correct: The school opens at 7 AM.
Wrong: The schools opens at 7 AM.

Correct: The schools open at 7 AM.

(Students repeat the correct sentences.)

Teacher:

Remember:

Singular subject → verb + -s/-es .

Plural subject → base verb.

There is/was → singular noun.

There are/were → plural noun.

6. Quick Practice (1 minute)

Teacher:

Now let's practise. Fill in the blank with the correct verb.

(Write on the board or say aloud.)

She ___ (like) coffee.
They ___ (work) every day.
There ___ (be) a problem.
There ___ (be) many students in the room.
There ___ (be) a time when people didn't use smartphones.
There ___ (be) many reasons why I chose this university.
He ___ (go) to school by bus.
The schools ___ (open) at 7 AM.

(Students answer. Teacher corrects.)

Answers:

likes
work
is
are
was
were
goes
open

7. Summary and Homework (30 seconds)

Teacher:

Let's summarise.

Subject--verb agreement means the subject and verb must match.

Singular subject → singular verb (add -s/-es in the present simple).
Plural subject → plural verb (base form).
There is / was → singular noun.
There are / were → plural noun.

Your homework:

Write five sentences using subject--verb agreement.

Use at least one singular subject, one plural subject, one there is/are , and one there was/were.

That's all for today. Thank you, everyone. See you next class!

End of Teacher's Script

📘 Subject--Verb Agreement 主谓一致 · 一页笔记

主语决定动词形式 · 单数配单数，复数配复数 · There is/are 与 There was/were

1️⃣ 什么是主语和动词？

成分	定义	例子
Subject 主语	句子中做动作的人、事物或想法	She likes coffee.
Verb 动词	表示动作的词	She likes coffee.

2️⃣ 核心规则：单数主语 + 单数动词；复数主语 + 复数动词

✅ 单数主语 Singular Subject

he, she, it, 一个人/一个事物

一般现在时中，动词通常加 -s / -es

He works every day.
June likes learning English.
She goes to school by bus.

✅ 复数主语 Plural Subject

they, we, you, 多个人/多个事物

动词不加 -s / -es，用原形

They work every day.
The schools open at 7 AM.
We like English.

3️⃣ There is / There are（现在时）

结构	后面接	例子
There is	单数名词	There is a problem.
		There is one student in the room.
There are	复数名词	There are several problems.
		There are a lot of students in the room.

⚠️ There is a growing problem with pollution. （单数）

⚠️ There is a significant difference between the two options.（单数）

4️⃣ There was / There were（过去时）

结构	后面接	例子
There was	单数名词	There was a problem.
		There was a time when people didn't use smartphones.
There were	复数名词	There were many problems.
		There were many reasons why I chose this university.

5️⃣ 快速对照表

时态	单数	复数
现在时	There is + 单数	There are + 复数
过去时	There was + 单数	There were + 复数
一般动词	主语 + 动词 -s/-es	主语 + 动词原形

6️⃣ 常见错误

错误	正确	原因
He work every day.	He works every day.	单数主语 + 动词加 -s
They works every day.	They work every day.	复数主语 + 动词原形
There is many problems.	There are many problems.	复数名词用 are
There was many reasons.	There were many reasons.	复数名词用 were
The school open at 7 AM.	The school opens at 7 AM.	单数主语 + -s
The schools opens at 7 AM.	The schools open at 7 AM.	复数主语 + 原形

✅ 一句话总结

主语是单数，动词用单数形式（现在时加 -s/-es）；主语是复数，动词用原形。

There is / was 接单数名词；There are / were 接复数名词。

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