PRACTICE WITH SUBJECTS Ask yourself these questions when checking subjects 1. Does the sentence contain a subject? All complete sentences contain a subject. Exception: the command form, in which the subject is understood. (For example, “Do your homework.”) (A) The subject may consist of one or more nouns: Birds fiy. Birds and bats fiy. (B) The subject may consist of a and words that modify it): ‘SUBJECT PHRASE The first Persian carpet I bought was very The subject noun is “carpet.” In general, th pronoun. In this case: Tt was very expensive. Phrase (a group of words that includes the subject noun(©) Vaious trvctures may be used for subjects Noun ‘The elover smells sweet Pronoun Ttis anew bookcase. Clause (contains noun + verb) What they found surprised me: Gerund (ing forms) Swimming is good exercise. Gerund phrase ‘Working ten years in the mine was enough. Infinitive (10+ verb) ‘To sleep ini luxury Infinitive phrase ‘Tobe able to read is very important. (D) Several different clause structures can be used for subjects Whe structures Where we go depends on the job opportunites. Yesho structures: ‘Whether it rains or not doesn't matter. “The fact that” structures (“the fact” is frequently omitted in these structures): ‘The fact that he survived the accident isa miracle. ‘That he survived the accident isa miracle. 2. Is there an unnecessary subject pronoun? A subject noun or phrase and the pronoun that could replace it cannot be used in the ‘same sentence Correct Avballisatoy. A balland a at are in the yard. Itisatoy. ‘They are inthe yard Incorrect A ball itis atoy. ‘A all and a at they are in the yard, 3. Does the subject agree with the verb? Examples sv ‘Susie is working, ay, ‘Susie, Bill, and Albert are working ‘The subject (5) and the verb (V) must agree in person and number. Note the subject-verb agreement rules, (A) A prepositional phrase does not affect the verb s v ‘The houses on that street ste for sale, s v ‘The house with the broken steps i for sal (B) The following expressions do ot affect the verb, " accompanied by as wellas along with inadditon to among {together withv i, oper wth om, sn sing hae Jim and Linda, z ‘along with Tom and Sally, are going fishing. (©) Subjects joined by “and” or “both... and...” take a plural verb Both il and Lydia are leaving town, (D) When “several, verb. any,” “both,” and “few” are used as pronouns, they take a plural ‘Several have already left the party (E) When the following phrases are used, the verb agrees with the subject that is closer to the verb in the sentence. either... oF neither. nor not only... . but also Neither my sister nor my brothers want to work in an office. Neither my brothers nor my sister wants to work in an office. (F) The expression “a number of" (meaning “several is plural. The expression “ihe numberof” is singular A number of items have been deleted, ‘The number of deleted items is small (@) When a word indicating nationality refers to a language, itis singular. When it refers to the people, itis plural. Japanese was a difficult language for me to learn ‘The Japanese are very inventive people. (H) When clauses, infinitives, or gerunds are used as subjects, they usually take a singular verb. What it takes is lots of courage. ‘To fly in space is her dream. Learning a new skill is very satisfying, 4, Have “It” and “there” been used correctly? (A) Sometimes a speaker wants to focus onthe type of information that i expressed by anadjective. Since an adjective (ADJ) cannot be used ina subject postion, the word “it” is used asthe subject: sv wm Tt was windy and the rain beat down, ‘Sometimes a speaker wants to emphasize a noun and its relative clause. The speaker ‘uses “it”in the subject position followed by the verb “be’ seen ‘Tt was Tom who broke the window.‘sts, or wants to mention the at something Xe subject, and the Verb agrees with ‘Sometimes a speaker wants t0 say th ae 1 word “there” is Us Sonam or teu pre (PR) sv NPM There were Six meat in the boat. (B) “Ie can be used to refer toa previously stated topic. “It” ean also be used to fill the sna rss Pe refrigerator ‘The frst “it” is used asthe subject. The second “it” refers to the milk. (©) “There” can be an adverb which tells where something is. “There” can also be used to fill the subject position [see 4(A)]. ‘There are three botles of orange juice over there by the sink. The first “there” is used to fil the subject position and indicates that three bottles exist. ‘The second “there” is an adverb which indicates where the bottles are. ‘Use Exercises $17-$23 to develop your skills in identifying and using subjects, Focusing on subjects aaras ane Complete subject of the sentence and circle the subject noun (the noun tat agrees with the verb), Examples PortGtieare often the distribution centers for a country, ‘The beautiful, large, green with the tuft mage eal of red ph on their 1. Until the mid-1950s, fishermer runs depleted stocks, 5. Since nitrogen isa characteristic and Scientists can measure protein by myLocating subjects Underline the complete subjects of the following sentences. Example Ronni my favorite kind of exercise How wildlife has adapted to life along the road systems isthe topic of the lecture. ~ To be among 200-foot-high towering rocks is an exhilarating experience | What was decided during the meeting has been well documented. . Whispering in class not or but also bothers those wi 2. 3. Very early in the experiment, isolating the insects became necessary. 4, 5, nly prevents the whisperers from understanding the lesson, ho are trying to hear the class lecture. 2 ‘To create and produce new combinations of line and color takes areal flair What caused the most damage to Michelangelo's works in the Sistine Chapel was @ sluclike substance spread over the frescoes early inthe sixteenth century. . Rolling die, buying property, and accumulating play money are what seem tobe the attractions of many board games, Checking subject-verb agreement Write “C” (correct) if the subject agrees with the verb. Write “I” (incorrect) if the subject does not agree with the verb, Examples __C _ An important goal was to increase tourism, ‘The houses is open to the public. In the first sentence, the subject “goal” agrees with the verb “was. 2” In the second sentence, the subject “houses” does not agree with the verb “is, 1 Deer are frequently seen in the 6. ‘The president, together with his meadow at dusk. cabinet members, aré meeting the ey ert phate rbject African Trade Delegation, per 1. ‘Two weeks is plenty of time to 3 Neither her sons nor her daughter Fete gress plays the piano. js 8 A lion and a lioness from Kenya is 4, ___ Nowadays, crossing Puget Sound a m in feries are fast and convenient. saving at the Metropolitan Zoo today. ‘Bach river and ravine creaté.an ‘obstacle in the cross-country race, Extended practice: Correct the sentences in the preceding exercise that have subject-verb errors,