Lesson 6  Subject/Verb Agreement - Irregular Verbs - Forms of Be

Tennessee Blueprint - 5th Grade
Assessed - Identify the correct use within context of the following :

·1 nouns (i.e., singular/plural; possessives; predicate nouns, nouns as objects);

·2 pronouns (i.e., agreement, subject, object);

·3 verbs (i.e., action/linking, regular/irregular, agreement, tenses);

·4 adjectives (e.g., common/proper, comparative forms, predicate adjectives);

·5 adverbs (e.g., comparative forms, negatives).

Developing - Use verbs appropriately (be/have, verb phrases, agreement with subject in person, and number).

Developing - Use appropriate language structure in oral and written communication (e.g., subject-verb agreement in simple and compound sentences, correct word order, and correct placement of more detailed words and phrases).

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Irregular Verb Charts

In Lesson 6 you will learn the correct uses of the verb BE.

Rules for am is are (Present Tense)

  • Use am with the pronoun I.

  • Use is when you mean one person, place, or thing.

  • Use are when you mean more than one person, place, or thing, and with the pronoun you.
Singular Nouns or Pronouns Verbs Sentences
I am I am the biggest boy in the valley.
Billy is Billy is too young to hunt by himself.
it is It is the biggest coon I have ever seen.
Plural Nouns or Pronouns Verbs Sentences
hounds are Hounds are good hunters.
you are You are in for a long, cold night.

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Rules for was were (Past Tense)

  • Use was when you mean one person place, or thing.

  • Use were when you mean more than one person, place, or thing.
Singular Nouns or Pronouns Verbs Sentences
I was I was twelve years old when I caught my first coon.
Billy was Billy was too cold to stop shaking.
it was It was time to go home.
Plural Nouns or Pronouns Verbs Sentences
hounds were Hounds were all over the mountain.
we were We were here first.
you were You were the last one to go home.

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Rules using Be Verbs with There

  • Use is or was with the pronoun there when you mean one person or thing.

  • Use are or were with the pronoun there when you mean more than one person, place, or thing.

Examples

Singular Subject
There is a large coon up in the tree.
There was a large coon up in the tree yesterday.

Plural Subject
There are ten coons up in the tree.
There were ten coons in the tree yesterday.

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Online Quiz with Forms of Be http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zz86skm.htm

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Practice

Part A - Write the correct present tense form of be (am, is, are) to complete each sentence.

  1. The beautiful night ________________ perfect for hunting.

  2. Papa ________________ happy to see my ax sharpened.

  3. The hounds ________________ anxious to go.

  4. Because I told Little Ann that today is important, she ________________ ready with her tail wiggling and twisting.

  5. We ________________ down by the river bottom in record time.

  6. He told the sheriff, "I ________________ Billy Colman."

Part B - Write the correct past tense form of be (was, were) to complete each sentence.

  1. I ________________  as nervous as Samie, our house cat.

  2. One of the things I promised Mama ________________ to not go into the river.

  3. My boots ________________ as soft as a hummingbird's nest.

  4. I could tell Mama ________________ worried and it didn't make me feel too good.

  5. While Mama and my sisters ________________ bundling me up, Papa lit my lantern.

Part C - Circle the correct verb to agree with the subject of the sentence.

  1. There (is, are) lanterns shining all through the hills.

  2. There (is, are) a large raccoon down in the river bottom.

  3. There hanging on the tool shed (is, are) my first hide.

  4. There (was, were) no time to waste.

  5. There by the large oak tree (was, were) the largest coon I have ever seen.

  6. There (was, were) two pairs of coon eyes staring back at Billy.

Part D - Multiple Choice - Practice with Forms of Be

  1. Choose the sentence that is written correctly.
    1. Billy was beside his hounds expecting one of them to bawl, but the hounds were ready for a rest.
    2. Billy was beside his hounds expecting one of them to bawl, but the hounds was ready for a rest.
    3. Billy were beside his hounds expecting one of them to bawl, but the hounds were ready for a rest.
    4. Billy were beside his hounds expecting one of them to bawl, but the hounds was ready for a rest.
       
  2. Read this sentence.

    Billy is an inexperienced trainer, but Old Dan and Little Ann are the best coon dogs a boy could wish for.

    What is the correct way to write this sentence?

    1. Billy am an inexperienced trainer, but Old Dan and Little Ann are the best coon dogs a boy could wish for.
    2. Billy is an inexperienced trainer, but Old Dan and Little Ann is the best coon dogs a boy could wish for.
    3. Billy are an inexperienced trainer, but Old Dan and Little Ann are the best coon dogs a boy could wish for.
    4. Best as is.
  3. Which sentence is written correctly?
    1. This are what I had prayed for, worked and sweated for, my own little hounds bawling on the trail of a river coon.
    2. This am what I had prayed for, worked and sweated for, my own little hounds bawling on the trail of a river coon.
    3. This were what I had prayed for, worked and sweated for, my own little hounds bawling on the trail of a river coon.
    4. This was what I had prayed for, worked and sweated for, my own little hounds bawling on the trail of a river coon.
  4. Which of the following is NOT written correctly?
  1. My dogs were just big, awkward pups, trailing their first live coon.
  2. The ring-tail fool was not going to trick my dogs again.
  3. My dogs didn't know it, but I was pretty well convinced that that was what the coon had done.
  4. Neither Old Dan or Little Ann were bewildered.
  1. Choose the sentence that is written correctly.
  1. After seeing that there was nothing to be scared of, once again I were the fearless hunter.
  2. The trails was forgotten as I tore off through the brush.
  3. I are afraid to believe it.
  4. There is a stepping stone out in the river for Little Ann to stand on.
  1. Which of the following is NOT written correctly?
    1. It was the king of the woods, towering far above the smaller trees.
    2. The huge limbs was spreading out over the small birch, ash, box elder, and water oak.
    3. I am the one who named this tree "the giant".
    4. There was little hope from the beginning.

Part D - Multiple Choice - Review of Subject Verb Agreement

  1. Read this sentence.

Along about daylight I find my second wind, and I really did make the chips fly.

What is the correct way to write this sentence?

  1. Along about daylight I find my second wind, and I really did make the chips flies.
  2. Along about daylight I find my second wind, and I really did make the chips flies.
  3. Along about daylight I finds my second wind, and I really did make the chips fly.
  4. Best as is.
  1. Which sentence is written correctly?
    1. Two hours later things was different.
    2. "Yes, Papa," I said, "I are a little tired and sleepy, otherwise I'm fine."
    3. There sure is a coon in this tree.
    4. Papa climb on the mule's back.
       
  2. Which sentence is written correctly?
    1. You are as crazy as a bedbug.
    2. I hears her saying something about al old coon as she disappears in the underbrush.
    3. Old Dan and Little Ann hops up and sniff around.
    4. God hear my prayer.

Part E - There are seven mistakes in the use of the verb be in the paragraphs below. Use proofreading marks to delete each incorrect word and write the correct word above it.

Example:  We on the same team.

  The raccoon are a furry animal that has a bushy ringed tail. Their fur coloring makes them appear to be wearing masks. This is why they has the nickname "Bandit".  The "mask" goes across the raccoon's face from cheek to cheek then around the eyes above the nose. The fur on the mask is a dark brown color. The rest of the raccoon's fur are gray to a blackish color. The tail of a raccoon has rings of different colors. The rings is black and light brown or gray.

    Seven species of raccoons live in the world. The northern raccoon are 30 to 38 inches long. They weigh 12 to 25 pounds.

    Raccoons have stiff, long hair. The hair are generally gray with yellow or brown. Raccoons have tails which is 12 inches long. A raccoon's tail has from 5 to 7 rings. They also have a pointed snout and long flexible fingers. They have sharp claws.