Subject-verb agreement is an important concept in grammar that every writer must master. It is a fundamental rule that states that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number – meaning, if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural as well. While it may sound simple, errors in subject-verb agreement are common in both spoken and written language, even among professionals.
One way to help students improve their subject-verb agreement skills is through games and activities that make learning fun and engaging. Here are some activities that you can use to teach and reinforce subject-verb agreement rules:
1. Memory Game
Create cards with sentences that have subject-verb agreement errors, and their corrected versions. Shuffle the cards, and lay them out face-down. Players take turns flipping over two cards, trying to match the incorrect sentence with its corrected version. If they make a match, they keep the cards and score a point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
2. Scavenger Hunt
Hide cards with sentences all around the classroom. Divide the students into pairs or small groups and ask them to find the cards and identify the subject-verb agreement errors. The first group to find and correct all the sentences wins.
3. Board Game
Create a board game where players roll a dice and move their markers along the board. Each square on the board has a sentence with a subject-verb agreement error. Players must identify the error and correct it to move forward. The player who reaches the end of the board first wins.
4. Mad Libs
Mad Libs is a fun game where players fill in the blanks of a story with random words without knowing the context. You can create a Mad Libs game focused on subject-verb agreement, where players fill in the blanks with correct subject-verb agreement forms.
5. Sentence Building
This activity helps students practice subject-verb agreement by constructing their own sentences. Ask them to write down a subject on a piece of paper and fold it. Then, ask them to write down a verb on another piece of paper and fold it as well. Once everyone has completed this, have them draw a subject and verb from the pile of folded papers. They then need to create a sentence where the subject and verb must agree in number.
In conclusion, subject-verb agreement games and activities make grammar practice more engaging and fun for students of all ages. Use these activities to reinforce the rules and help students identify and correct subject-verb agreement errors in their writing. By making the learning process enjoyable, students will be more likely to remember and apply these grammar rules in their writing.
