Homework 1 English Syntax

Conversie

Subject-Predicatre Agreement

Exercise 1. Completion Questions

Select the word that best completes each sentence.
1. The pop you get when you crack your knuckles (are, is) actually a bubble of gas bursting.
2. Polar bears (is, are) left-handed.
3. The name of all the continents (ends, end) with the same letter that they start with.
4. No president of the United States (were, was) an only child.
5. Everyone (are, is) entitled to my opinion.
6. Here is some good advice: Don’t sneeze when someone (is, are) cutting your hair.
7. If a man (are, is) wearing a striped suit, it’s against the law to throw a knife at him in
Natoma, Kansas.
8. In 1659, Massachusetts (mades, made) Christmas illegal.
9. Unless you have a doctor’s note, it (are, is) illegal to buy ice cream after 6 P.M. in Newark,
New Jersey.
10. It is a misdemeanour to show films that (depicts, depict) acts of felonious crime in
Montana.
11. I (drives, drive) way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
12. If Barbie (are, is) so popular, why do you have to (buys, buy) her friends?
13. Many people (quits, quit) looking for work when they find a job.
14. A Rolling Stone (play, plays) the guitar.
15. It’s always darkest just before I (open, opens) my eyes.
16. The squeaking wheel (get, gets) annoying.
17. A journey of a thousand miles (begin, begins) with a blister.
18. Don’t count your chickens—it (take, takes) too long.
19. Donald Duck comics (was, were) banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.
20. Kemo Sabe (mean, means) “soggy shrub” in Navajo.
21. All porcupines (floats, float) in water.
22. The only nation whose name (begins, begin) with an A but doesn’t end in an A is
Afghanistan.

23. Emus cannot (walks, walk) backwards.

24. Most Americans’ car horns (beep, beeps) in the key of “F.”
25. No word in the English language (rhymes, rhyme) with month.

Exercise 2. Correct all errors in agreement in the following paragraph.

A. Two people left a 15-mile-long trail of doughnuts after they tooks a doughnut lorry from a
car park and fled, police said Thursday. The truck were was parked at a convenience store with its rear
doors open and its engine running while a deliveryman carried doughnuts inside, said a Slidell police
spokesman. Two suspects hopped in the lorry and sped off to the nearby town of Lacombe, with
doughnuts spilling out along the way, he said. They abandoned the truck when they was were spotted
by police responding to reports of a dangerous driver who were was losing his doughnuts. A
passenger were was captured, but the driver, whose name were was not released, ran away. Their
motive for taking the truck filled with doughnuts were was unclear. “I don’t know if it were was a
need for transportation or if they just had the munchies,” the police said.

B. A wife are is complaining about her husband spending all his time at the local tavern, so
one night he take takes her along with him. “What’ll ya have?” he ask asks. “Oh, I don’t know. The
same as you, I suppose,” she reply replys. So the husband order orders a couple of Jack Daniels and
gulp gulps his down in one go. His wife watch watched him, then take took a sip from her glass and
immediately spit it out. “Yuck, it tastes awful, worse than awful!” she splutter splutters. “I don’t know
how you can drink this stuff!” “Well, there you goes go,” cry crys the husband. “And you thinks think
I’m out enjoying myself every night!”

Exercise 3. From the choices provided after each sentence, select a word that would
correctly complete the sentence.
1. The piano as well as the pipe organ _____has_______ to be tuned for the big concert (has,
have).
2. The mayor together with his two brothers _____is_______ going to be indicted for
accepting bribes (are, is).
3. Neither of my two suitcases _____are_______ adequate for this trip (is, are).
4. There _____is_______ a list of committee members on the head-table ( are, is).
5. Everybody in the class _____have______ done the homework well in advance ( has, have).
6. The jury ______takes______ their seats in the courtroom (take, takes).
7. Neither the teacher nor the students ___seem__ to understand this assignment (seem,
seems).
8. ___Have________ either my father or my brothers made a down-payment on the house?
(has, have).
9. Hartford is one of those cities that ___is____ working hard to reclaim a riverfront (is, are).
hint: try starting the sentence with "of those cities that . . . ."
10. Some of the grain ______have______ gone bad ( have, has).
11. John or his brother _____is_______ going to be responsible for this (are, is).
12. A few of the students _____are_______ doing so well they can skip the next course (are,
is).
13. Either the committee on course design or the committee on college operations
___decides_________ these matters (decide, decides).
 14. One of my instructors ___has_________ written a letter of recommendation for me
(have, has).
14. Neither of us ___was_____ able to predict the outcome of today's game (was, were).
15. Macaroni and cheese ___are_____ my favourite dish (is, are).
16. At the foot of the mountain ___were_____ two enormous vineyards, both owned by the
same woman (was, were).
17. A small percentage of the grain ___was____ ruined by the prolonged rain (was, were).
18. Most parents mistakenly think that mumps ___has____ been eliminated as a childhood
disease (has, have).
19. Our college should change ____its___ policy about withdrawals (its, their).
20. Coaches Espinoza and Calhoun coach different sports. Neither Espinoza nor Calhoun
scheduled ____their____ team for the gym this afternoon (her, their).
21. No one has offered to let us use ___their____ home for the department meeting (her,
their, his or her).
22. If I ever find my glasses, I think I'll have ___them_____ replaced (it, them).
23. General Motors will probably recall most of ___their______ four-wheel-drive vehicles
(its, their).

Exercise 4. Identify the subject and choose the correct verb in each of the following
sentence.
1. The citizens of this town (demand, demands) police protection.
2. Glenville's Glee Club always (give, gives) a fine concert.
3. Either Kathy or Dorothy (is, are) going.
4. Both Ruth and I (go, goes) to bed early.
5. The man, along with the two women, (was, were) delayed.
6. We (was, were) passed by six cars.
7. Few of the students (live, lives) in the dormitory.
8. The ice cream (melt, melts) at room temperature.
9. No one (has, have) stolen my secret ideas!
10. The first baseman and the catcher (has, have) made many errors.
11. Mrs. Laird (speak, speaks) with authority.
12. The guitar, accompanied by the bass viol, (play, plays) the tune.
13. Joe and his brother always (drink, drinks) too fast.
14. Thelma, as well as her sister, (is, are) good at sports.
15. Neither of my parents (is, are) home tonight.
16. The captain of the two teams (is, are) Dan.
17. Where (do, does) the Chester family live?
18. The golf team and the tennis team (win, wins) every match.
 19. Why (do, does) Lisa and Tony disagree so much?
20. Mrs. Stum, together with her neighbors, (has, have) a sewing club.

Exercise 5. The following paragraph contains six errors in subject-verb agreement. Find and
correct each of the six verb errors.
Santa
According to legend, Santa Claus is a fat old man who visits every house on our planet in
about eight hours on one of the coldest nights of the year. Santa, as everybody knows, stop stops for
a glass of milk and a cookie at each house along the route. He prefer prefers to work unnoticed, so he
wears luminous red suit and travels with a pack of bell-jangling reindeer. For reasons that most
people does do not understand, this jolly old man enters each house not by the front door but
through the chimney (whether you has have a chimney or not). He customarily gives generously to
children in wealthy families, and he usually remind reminds poorer children that it's the thought that
counts. Santa Claus is one of the earliest beliefs that parents try to instill in their children. After this
absurdity, it's a wonder that any child ever believe believes in anything again.

Exercise 6. Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses in the following sentences. Explain:
1. John, along with twenty friends, (is / are) planning a party.
2. The quality of these recordings (is / are) not very good.
3. If the duties of the officers (isn’t / aren’t) reduced, there will not be enough time to
finish the project.
4. The effects of cigarette smoking (have / has) been proven to be extremely harmful.
5. Livings expenses in this country, as well as in many others, (is / are) at an all-time
high.
6. Neither Bob nor Mary (is / are) going to the play tonight.
7. A number of reporters (was / were) at the conference yesterday.
8. Everybody who (has / have) a fever must go home immediately.
9. The committee (has / have) already reached a decision.
10. A pack of wild dogs (has / have) frightened all the ducks away.
11. Rice and beans, my favourite dish, (remind / reminds) me of my native Puerto Rico.
12. Four years (is / are) a long time to spend away from your friends and family.
13. Politics (is / are) sometimes a dirty business.
14. None of my friends (was / were) there.
15. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator (is / are) going to
have to make a decision.
16. (Has / Have) either Luis or his parents written to Angela?
17. The number of students who have withdrawn from class this term (is / are)
appalling.
Exercise 7. Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses in the following sentences. Explain:
(I am very sorry, I do not know how to explain, I just answered the way it sounds right to my ears
and intuition)
18. John, along with twenty friends, (is / are) planning a party.
The quality of these recordings (is / are) not very good.
19. If the duties of the officers (isn’t / aren’t) reduced, there will not be enough time to
finish the project.
The effects of cigarette smoking (have / has) been proven to be extremely harmful.
(This sentence is talking about the effects of the cigarettes, un action which is the
20. Livings expenses in this country, as well as in many others, (is / are) at an all-time
high.
21. Neither Bob nor Mary (is / are) going to the play tonight.
22. A number of reporters (was / were) at the conference yesterday.
23. Everybody who (has / have) a fever must go home immediately.
24. The committee (has / have) already reached a decision.
25. A pack of wild dogs (has / have) frightened all the ducks away.
26. Rice and beans, my favourite dish, (remind / reminds) me of my native Puerto Rico.
27. Four years (is / are) a long time to spend away from your friends and family.
28. Politics (is / are) sometimes a dirty business.
29. None of my friends (was / were) there.
30. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator (is / are) going to
have to make a decision.
31. (Has / Have) either Luis or his parents written to Angela?
32. The number of students who have withdrawn from class this term (is / are)
appalling.

Exercise 8. Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.

6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's
favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.

17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?

18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.

21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.