Day 1 Activity: Subject-Verb Agreement
IELTS with Mujahid | Beginner level | Works on phone, tablet and laptop
Why this matters. Subject-verb agreement means the verb must match its subject, so one subject takes one form of the verb and many subjects take another. This is one of the most common mistakes in IELTS Writing and Speaking, and examiners notice it quickly. You have already studied nouns, pronouns and verbs, and now you connect all three into correct sentences. A noun or a pronoun is the subject, and the verb must agree with it, for example “He plays” but “They play”. Even advanced learners write “The information are useful” or “Everyone are ready”, so do not feel bad if this feels tricky. The good news is that there are only a few rules, and once you learn them your accuracy score in Writing can improve fast. In Speaking, correct agreement also makes you sound confident and clear. Practice the rules one by one today, and then test yourself with the activities below.
Self-learning step: Open Google and search “subject verb agreement rules with examples”. Read one page for five minutes, then come back and try the activities.
| Subject | be | have | do | play (present simple) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | am | have | do | play |
| he / she / it / singular noun | is | has | does | plays |
| we / you / they / plural noun | are | have | do | play |
Singular subject, singular verb. Plural subject, plural verb. The student studies. The students study.
Two subjects joined by and take a plural verb. Ali and Sara are classmates.
The verb agrees with the closer subject. Neither the teacher nor the students were late.
Words between the subject and the verb do not change the verb. The box of books is heavy.
They take a singular verb. The information is useful. Advice is free.
In IELTS writing, treat a group as one unit. The team is ready. The family lives here.
everyone, everybody, someone, nobody, each take a singular verb. Everyone is nervous. Both, few and many take a plural verb.
The real subject comes after the verb. There is a book. There are three books.
news, mathematics, economics, physics. The news is good. Also: The number of users is rising. A number of users are leaving.
Activity 1: Singular or plural subject?
Decide which verb the subject needs, then tap Singular or Plural.
Activity 2: Choose the verb (basic rules)
Rules 1 and 2, with be, have, do and present simple.
Activity 3: Choose the verb (tricky rules)
Uncountable nouns, collective nouns, neither/nor, extra phrases and there is/are.
Activity 4: Error detective
Each sentence has one verb that does not agree with its subject. Tap it, then press Check to see the correction.
Activity 5: Spot the correct sentence
Two sentences, one is correct. These are real IELTS learner mistakes.
Activity 6: Write it yourself
Use the lines below. Write in your own words, then tick the checklist.
Fantastic effort. You have connected nouns, pronouns and verbs into correct sentences. Keep practicing at www.goatguruenglish.com
IELTS with Mujahid | www.goatguruenglish.com