Is it most of the pie is or most of the pie are?

Is. All, most, some and half take their number from the noun after of. Most of the pie is gone, because pie is one thing. Most of the pies are gone, because pies are more than one. This is the one place where the phrase in the middle does decide the verb.

How does a student find the subject when the verb comes first?

Turn the sentence around. Behind the dugout stand two oak trees becomes two oak trees stand behind the dugout. Where are the keys becomes the keys are where. Once the subject is in front, the ear usually gets the verb right.

Why does every student and teacher take has and not have?

Every and each in front of a pair make the subject one at a time: every student and every teacher, each one having a copy. So the verb is singular, even with and in the middle.

8th grade subject-verb agreement

8th grade subject-verb agreement worksheets

8th grade agreement stacks the traps. Two or three phrases sit between the subject and the verb, the subject is an indefinite pronoun like each, neither, most or several, or the verb comes before the subject in a question or a sentence that opens with a phrase. Eighth graders find the true subject in each case and write the verb that matches it.

Free printable PDF worksheet.

Each print is a different sheet with its own answer key. You don't need to sign up.

The kind of sentences you'll fix

Write the form of the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject. Use the present tense unless the sentence says it already happened.

Every teacher and counselor in the building (have) a copy of the new bell schedule.
Fixed: Every teacher and counselor in the building has a copy of the new bell schedule.
Neither of my older brothers (remember) where we parked the car.
Most of the wildflowers in the meadow (bloom) in late May.

Every print pulls a new set of sentences at this level, so a make-up test or a second sibling gets a different mix.

What's on an 8th grade sheet

8th grade sheets draw from 79 sentences, 7 to a page. None of these sentences are on 7th grade sheets. 7th grade sheets print 8 to a page.

A few of the sentences, as the answer key corrects them:

Why are the goalkeepers practicing on the far field today?
The roots of the old maple in the backyard have cracked the sidewalk.
Several of the essays in last year’s district writing contest were written by eighth graders.

Fix it. Write the form of the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject. Use the present tense unless the sentence says it already happened. 7 sentences to fix per page.
Choose the word. Circle the letter of the verb that agrees with the subject. 10 questions per page.

Every version prints on US Letter or A4, with its answer key on the last page.

How to teach this

Give your student one routine and ask them to say it out loud: find the verb, ask who or what is doing it, and cross out anything that could not be the answer. Stacked phrases fall away under that question. For questions and sentences that open with a phrase (behind the dugout stand two oak trees), have them rewrite the sentence in normal order in the margin first. The one new rule is the small set of words that take their number from the noun after of: all, most, some, half. Most of the menu has, most of the items have. Everything else on the sheet is a pattern they have already met, just buried deeper.

Watch for: The s moves: singular nouns usually have no s while their verb does (the dog barks), and plural nouns have the s while their verb doesn't (the dogs bark). Words between the subject and the verb don't change the match. In 'The box of crayons was full', the subject is box, not crayons.

Common questions about 8th grade subject-verb agreement

Is it most of the pie is or most of the pie are?: Is. All, most, some and half take their number from the noun after of. Most of the pie is gone, because pie is one thing. Most of the pies are gone, because pies are more than one. This is the one place where the phrase in the middle does decide the verb.
How does a student find the subject when the verb comes first?: Turn the sentence around. Behind the dugout stand two oak trees becomes two oak trees stand behind the dugout. Where are the keys becomes the keys are where. Once the subject is in front, the ear usually gets the verb right.
Why does every student and teacher take has and not have?: Every and each in front of a pair make the subject one at a time: every student and every teacher, each one having a copy. So the verb is singular, even with and in the middle.

8th grade subject-verb agreement worksheets

The kind of sentences you'll fix

What's on an 8th grade sheet

How to teach this

Common questions about 8th grade subject-verb agreement

Related worksheets

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