Grammar: Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice (With Prepositional Phrases)

Advanced Subject-Verb Agreement Practice (With Prepositional Phrases)

• Often, the subject of a sentence is followed directly by the verb.
• For instance: The dog barks all night.
• However, sometimes a prepositional phrase is between the subject and the verb.
• For this practice, look carefully for the subject and ignore the words that are part of prepositional phrases.

The character in The Arabian Nights is a woman named Scheherazade.

                      subject                                            verb

PRACTICE:     Circle the subject.

Underline the verb that “agrees” or matches the subject.

1. Marvin’s excuses for not having completed his research paper (bore, bores) me.

2. Speeding in restricted zones, especially those near schools, (endanger, endangers) lives.

3. One computer for two or three students (seem, seems) inadequate.

4. The popularity of violent movies (reflect, reflects) the values of our society.

5. Honeydews, one of the favorite melons of consumers, (taste, tastes) clean and sweet.

6. Coaches who are disciplined and who demand discipline from their players usually

(have, has) winning teams.

7. The annual sales of video games in the U.S.  probably (exceed, exceeds) a billion dollars.

8. Small amounts of tar and nicotine (damage, damages) the health of smokers.

9. The women riding in the back seat of the car (was, were) not injured in the accident.

10. Animals which sleep in the day and are active at night (have, has) good night vision.

11. The students waiting in line for tickets to the concert (expect, expects) good seats.

12. A teenager who tries to conform to the expectations of adults (is, are) often ridiculed

by his or her peers.

13. The bark of some trees (have, has) been used to treat certain diseases.
                                                                                   

Adapted from http://faculty.mccneb.edu/mbklocke