As children progress through their academic careers, they are introduced to a variety of grammatical concepts that are essential to their language development. One of the most important of these concepts is subject-verb agreement. This refers to the idea that the subject of a sentence and its corresponding verb must agree in number, meaning that a singular subject requires a singular verb, and a plural subject requires a plural verb. For example, “The cat sits on the mat” uses a singular subject “cat” and a singular verb “sits.”
Grade 2 is a crucial time for children to begin practicing and mastering subject-verb agreement. This is when they are building a strong foundation in language and grammar, and exercises that focus on subject-verb agreement can help solidify their understanding of this concept. Here are a few subject-verb agreement exercises for grade 2:
1. Fill in the blank: “The dogs __________ in the park.” The correct verb to use is “run,” as the subject “dogs” is plural.
2. Multiple choice: “The girl __________ the ball.” A) kicks B) kick C) kicked. The correct verb to use is “kicks,” as the subject “girl” is singular.
3. Rewrite the sentence: “The birds flies in the sky.” Rewrite this sentence to say “The bird flies in the sky.” By changing “birds” to “bird,” the subject and verb now agree.
4. Matching activity: Provide a list of singular and plural subjects and verbs, and have children match them correctly. For example, “dog/dogs” should be matched with “barks/bark” and “cat/cats” should be matched with “meows/meow.”
5. Story time: Read a story aloud and ask children to identify the subject and verb in each sentence, making sure that they agree in number. For example, “The boys play in the park” would be correct, while “The boys plays in the park” would be incorrect.
By incorporating these subject-verb agreement exercises into their lessons, teachers and parents can help grade 2 students develop a stronger grasp of proper grammar and language usage. With consistent practice and reinforcement, children can build a solid foundation in language and become more confident and skilled in their communication skills.