Lesson 5 - Subject/Verb Agreement - Irregular Verbs

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Assessed Skills from Tennessee Blueprint - 6th Grade

Identify sentences with correct subject-verb agreement (person/number) within context.

Identify the correct use of the following within context:

Irregular Verb Charts

In Lesson 5 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.

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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.

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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 book about the thermodynamics of aluminum in the collection.
There was a smell of ancient dust and mold around the books .

Plural Subject
There are books on many topics that Doon wants to read.
There were many books with warped covers and crumpled pages.

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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. Clary ________________ the only Emberite to raise vegetables.

2. I said we  ________________  in need of extra food.

3. It  ________________ a very small amount.

4. I  ________________ not an expert gardener.

5. Doon and Clary  ________________  red faced too.

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

1. The children who ________________ too little to go to work in the village helped Clary pull weeds.

2. Clary  ________________ out there every morning and every evening, tending them.

3. One night, when Doon  ________________  in room 215 eating with his father, he heard voices in the hall.

4. Lizzie  ________________  there.

5. All I got  ________________ some limp green beans and a few clumps of porridge!

6. The people of Ember  ________________ upset over the small amount of food they were given for supper.

7.  Orney's face ________________ a deep red, and his voice  ________________ shaking.

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

1. There (is, are) a speech about fairness.

2. There (is, are) carrot soup for dinner.

3. There  (is, are) too many people to feed.

4. There (was, were) a silence again, a terrible, vibrating silence.

5. There  (was, were) three carrot sticks and a boiled egg in his dinner parcel.

6. There (was, were) nothing left for breakfast this morning.

Part D - Multiple Choice - Practice with Forms of Be

1. Choose the sentence that is written correctly.
   1. Poppy were now almost well.
   2. When she weren't sleeping she tromped around the doctor's house.
   3. It weren't that she didn't like working.
   4. It was hard for her to stay in one place all day.
       
2. Read this sentence.

   One day she asks the doctor if there was any extra paper she could use for drawing.

   What is the correct way to write this sentence?

   1. One day she ask the doctor if there were any extra paper she could use for drawing.

   2. One day she ask the doctor if there was any extra paper she could use for drawing.
   3. One day she asks the doctor if there were any extra paper she could use for drawing.
   4. Best as is.
3. Which sentence is written correctly?
   1. She thought that since she were here in the real world she would be able to imagine the city much better than before.
   2. The sky were really blue!
   3. I am going to draw some trees, a couple of trucks with their oxen, and a chicken.
   4. The drawings was always the same thing-the tall buildings, the lighted windows.
4. Which of the following is NOT a written correctly?

1. There were six things, all different.
2. Caspar is my big brother.
3. They was all extinct items.
4. Well, what are they?

5. Choose the sentence that is written correctly.

1. This are just a model of a real airplane
2. The last thing was different from all the rest.
3. It were an animal made of some stiff grayish material.
4. There isn't any more elephants.

Part E - Multiple Choice - Review of Subject Verb Agreement

1. Read this sentence.

A couple of the work leaders, understanding how much the light bothered the Emberites' eyes, trade some extra wooden crates for a couple of boxes of glasses and give them out for free.

What is the correct way to write this sentence?

1. A couple of the work leaders, understanding how much the light bothered the Emberites' eyes, trade some extra wooden crates for a couple of boxes of glasses and gives them out for free.
2. A couple of the work leaders, understanding how much the light bothered the Emberites' eyes, trades some extra wooden crates for a couple of boxes of glasses and give them out for free.
3. A couple of the work leaders, understanding how much the light bothered the Emberites' eyes, trades some extra wooden crates for a couple of boxes of glasses and gives them out for free.
4. Best as is.

2. Which sentence is written correctly?
   1. So the next morning, just at dawn she ride her bike down to the plaza with a big bucket hanging from the handlebars.
   2. He runs toward her.
   3. "You people are - " He stop.
   4. You throws it in the river!
       
3. Which sentence is written correctly?
   1. It wasn't only Lina who gets into this kind of trouble.
   2. Other people says the wrong thing and irritate the people of Sparks.
   3. Sometimes they acts superior, boasting of things they had in their underground  city.
   4. The newcomers was to be fed, and all households was being supplied with extra food for this purpose.

Part F - There are 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.

1.   Lina sometimes ride down to the Pioneer Hotel to see Doon. He always seem glad to see her, but it isn't the same as it had been back in Ember, when they was involved in the desperate search for a way out of their doomed city. Doon show her around the Pioneer, and he tells her about the work he does and the people he eats his lunch with. But he seem distracted, or troubled, as if he was trying to solve a problem he weren't telling her about.
2.  Doon and Lina was not sure anyone from Ember would follow them.  Would they believe that there were a way out of Ember?  That there were another world?  That they had been living in  a cave?  But the people came.  Not all of them but many.  Doon counted 417 people from Ember as they set off in search of civilization.  When the reached the town of Sparks, they couldn't believe their eyes. The city seemed primitive in comparison to Ember.  There were no electricity or technology of any kind.  But the people of Sparks reluctantly welcomed the travelers and opened their homes to them.  But the relationship was strained.  The town were small and had limited supplies.  Taking in 417 people meant less for everyone.  As the summer passed, the people of Sparks began to resent having to share with others.  And the people of Ember resented having less than their hosts.  Will these two towns find a way to work together?  Or will ages-old resentments bring hostility?
   (From Booktalks http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/duprau_people.htm)

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Answer Key

Part A

1. is

2. are

3. is

4. am

5. are

Part B

1. were

2. was

3. was

4. was

5. was

6. were

7. was, was

Part C

1. is

2. is

3. are

4. was

5. were

6. was

Part D

1. d
2. d
3. c
4. c
5. c

Part E

1. d
2. b
3. a

Part F

1.   Lina sometimes rides down to the Pioneer Hotel to see Doon. He always seems glad to see her, but it isn't the same as it had been back in Ember, when they were involved in the desperate search for a way out of their doomed city. Doon shows her around the Pioneer, and he tells her about the work he does and the people he eats his lunch with. But he seems distracted, or troubled, as if he was trying to solve a problem he wasn't telling her about.
2.  Doon and Lina were not sure anyone from Ember would follow them.  Would they believe that there was a way out of Ember?  That there was another world?  That they had been living in  a cave?  But the people came.  Not all of them but many.  Doon counted 417 people from Ember as they set off in search of civilization.  When the reached the town of Sparks, they couldn't believe their eyes. The city seemed primitive in comparison to Ember.  There was no electricity or technology of any kind.  But the people of Sparks reluctantly welcomed the travelers and opened their homes to them.  But the relationship was strained.  The town was small and had limited supplies.  Taking in 417 people meant less for everyone.  As the summer passed, the people of Sparks began to resent having to share with others.  And the people of Ember resented having less than their hosts.  Will these two towns find a way to work together?  Or will age-old resentments bring hostility?