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Subject, Verb and Object: A Sentence Theatre Show

Subject, Verb and Object: A Sentence Theatre Show

Learn to find the subject, verb and object in a sentence, switch active to passive and make verbs agree, by directing plays in a theatre.

Chapter 3: Active and passive: swapping subject and object
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What you'll learn

  • Find the subject by asking who or what does the verb
  • Find the object, and spot sentences that have no object
  • Tell active and passive sentences apart, even without a 'by' part
  • Turn a simple active sentence into the passive
  • Make singular and plural subjects agree with their verbs
  • Choose formal or informal register to suit the reader

Chapter by chapter

  1. The subject: who or what does the verb Free to try

    Year 6 english · 1

  2. The object: who or what the verb is done to

    Year 6 english · 1

  3. Active and passive: swapping subject and object

    Year 6 english · 1

  4. Subject–verb agreement: singular and plural

    Years 5–6 english · 2

  5. Speech or writing? Agreement and register when editing

    Years 5–6 english · 2

  6. Grand Finale quiz (10 questions)

See every English chapter in the chapter library

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 6 english: Terminology: subject, object, active, passive, synonym, antonym, ellipsis, hyphen, colon, semi-colon, bullet points
  2. Years 5–6 english: Evaluate and edit by: ensuring correct subject and verb agreement when using singular and plural, distinguishing between the language of speech and writing and choosing the appropriate register

About this adventure

Subject, Verb and Object is an interactive grammar game for children aged 10–11 that teaches how to find the subject and object of a sentence, tell active from passive, and make the subject and verb agree. It follows the Year 6 English curriculum in England.

Every sentence is a short play on a theatre stage, directed by Olive the owl. Players tap and label sentence parts: the subject (who or what does the verb), the verb (the action) and the object (who or what the verb is done to). They watch a dragon-and-knight sentence spin round into the passive, where the object moves to the front.

Later shows turn the player into an editor. They fix agreement mistakes such as "The box of crayons are", type the correct verb, and choose between chatty speech and formal Standard English for different readers.

Questions and answers

What is the subject of a sentence?

The subject is the person or thing that does the verb. In "The dog chased the ball", the dog is the subject. A quick way to find it is to spot the verb first, then ask who or what did it.

What is the object of a sentence?

The object is the person or thing the verb is done to. In "The dog chased the ball", the ball is the object. Not every sentence has one: in "The baby slept", nothing is slept, so there is no object.

What is the difference between active and passive?

In an active sentence the subject does the action, as in "The dragon chased the knight". In a passive sentence the subject has the action done to it, as in "The knight was chased by the dragon". The "by" part can be left out.

What does subject–verb agreement mean?

Subject–verb agreement means a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, such as "the dog barks" but "the dogs bark". The verb matches the real subject, so "the box of crayons is" is correct.

What age is this subject and object game for, and how long does it take?

The game is designed for children aged 10–11 in Year 6, matching the English national curriculum. It has an optional warm-up, five short shows and a ten-question Grand Finale quiz, taking about 40 minutes in total.

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