F. Put a tick against sentences in which the subject-verb agreement is correct.
Put a cross against the other sentences.
1 Not one of the five pencils in the box was sharpened.
2 Eighty-four divided by six are fourteen.
Answers
Explanation:
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of subject-verb agreement.
Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes a plural verb.
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.
Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)