ESL Grammar: SUBJECTS AND VERBS (1) – Introduction

This ESL grammar lesson introduces students to the concepts of subjects and verbs, followed by a short worksheet in which they can practice identifying the subjects and verbs in various sentences.

Understanding subjects and verbs is essential for building correct English sentences. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to strengthen your grammar skills, this guide will help you master the basics of subjects and verbs.

ESL Grammar: What is a Subject?

A subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that performs the action in a sentence. It tells us who or what the sentence is about.

Examples:

• John runs every morning. (John is the subject)
• The cat sleeps on the couch. (The cat is the subject)
• Love is powerful. (Love is the subject)

ESL Grammar: What is a Verb?

A verb is a word that expresses an action or a state of being. Verbs are crucial because they tell us what the subject is doing or what state the subject is in.

Examples:

• John runs every morning. (runs is the action verb)
• The cat sleeps on the couch. (sleeps is the action verb)
• Love is powerful. (is is the linking verb)

ESL Grammar: Forming Simple Sentences

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb. It expresses a complete thought and is also known as an independent clause.

Examples:

• She sings. (She is the subject, sings is the verb)
• They are playing. (They is the subject, are playing is the verb phrase)

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This means:

• Singular subjects take singular verbs.
• Plural subjects take plural verbs.

Examples:

• The dog barks. (singular subject, singular verb)
• The dogs bark. (plural subject, plural verb)

Practice Makes Perfect

To master subjects and verbs, practice forming sentences by pairing subjects with appropriate verbs. The beginner-level grammar lesson below introduces the concepts of subjects and verbs in a clear and simple manner to help young ESL learners to understand this concept. Our series of ESL grammar lessons on subjects and verbs introduce these concepts and reinforce them through helpful and instructive exercises.

This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many more English grammar lessons focusing on all different parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs and lots more!) in our comprehensive, beginner-level ESL grammar textbook Great, Great Grammar! (Book 1: Parts of Speech).