Making Subjects and Verbs Agree This handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb She and her friends are at the fair When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb The book or the pen is in the drawer When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb The boy or his friends run every day His friends or the boy runs every day Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject Don't is a contraction of not and should be used only with a plural subject The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you With these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used He doesn't like it They don't like it Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase One of the boxes is open The people who listen to that music are few The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring The woman with all the dogs walks down my street The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb Each of these hot dogs is juicy Everybody knows Mr Jones Either is correct 7 Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs The news is on at six Note: the word dollars is a special case When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required Five dollars is a lot of money Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs (There are two parts to these things.) These scissors are dull Those trousers are made of wool In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb Since there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows There are many questions There is a question 10 Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family The team runs during practice The committee decides how to proceed The family has a long history My family has never been able to agree 11 Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well not change the number of the subject If the subject is singular, the verb is too The President, accompanied by his wife, is travelling to India All of the books, including yours, are in that boxDirections: Fill in the blank with the appropriate article, a, an, or the, or leave the space blank if no article is needed I want apple from that basket church on the corner is progressive 3 Miss Lin speaks Chinese I borrowed pencil from your pile of pencils and pens One of the students said, " professor is late today." Eli likes to play volleyball I bought umbrella to go out in the rain My daughter is learning to play violin at her school Please give me cake that is on the counter 10 I lived on Main Street when I first came to town 11 Albany is the capital of New York State 12 My husband's family speaks Polish 13 apple a day keeps the doctor away 14 ink in my pen is red 15 Our neighbors have cat and dog Articles Exercise #1: Answer Key Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab I want an apple from that basket The church on the corner is progressive Miss Lin speaks Chinese (no article needed) I borrowed a pencil from your pile of pencils and pens One of the students said, "The professor is late today." Eli likes to play volleyball (no article needed) I bought an umbrella to go out in the rain My daughter is learning to play the violin at her school Please give me the cake that is on the counter 10 I lived on Main Street when I first came to town (no article needed) 11 Albany is the capital of New York State (no article needed) 12 My husband's family speaks Polish (no article needed) 13 An apple a day keeps the doctor away 14 The ink in my pen is red 15 Our neighbors have a cat and a dog Articles Exercise #2 Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Directions: Write the following paragraphs, inserting a, an, and the where needed I have horse of my own I call her Pretty Girl She is intelligent animal, but she is not thoroughbred horse I could never enter her in race, even if I wanted to But I not want to She is companion, for my own pleasure I took her swimming day or two ago Horse knows when he is going to race How does he know? His breakfast was scanty (He is angry about that.) He does not have saddle on his back He is being led, not ridden, to grandstand He is led under grandstand into unusual, special stall Horse is nervous Sometimes he does not know what to when starting gate flies open and track is before him If he does not begin to run instantly, other horses are already ahead of him During race, when he sees another horse just ahead of him, he will try to pass him Sometimes jockey holds him back to save his energy for last stretch Eventually horse gets to run as fast as he can Exercise boy, watching owner's favorite jockey riding horse he has exercised day after day, says nothing Secretly, he is planning for day when he will be jockey himself, and his horse will be first to cross finish line Most people have fewer hours to give to time-consuming activities of clubs than they used to have, but most people in small town belong to club or two One of clubs is likely to be social and benevolent organization, such as Rotary or Elks Business people are likely to belong, also to either Kiwanis Club or Lions Such business people's organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of private dining rooms of town's leading hotel for lunch They have good lunch, hear good program, and continue their fundraising program for worthy organization, such as local hospital You can check your answers at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/print/esl/eslartA2.html Articles Exercise #2 Answer Key Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab I have a horse of my own I call her Pretty Girl She is an intelligent animal, but she is not a thoroughbred horse I could never enter her in a race, even if I wanted to But I not want to She is a companion, for my own pleasure I took her swimming a day or two ago A horse knows when he is going to race How does he know? His breakfast was scanty (He is angry about that.) He does not have a saddle on his back He is being led, not ridden, to the grandstand He is led under the grandstand into an unusual, special stall The horse is nervous Sometimes he does not know what to when the starting gate flies open and the track is before him If he does not begin to run instantly, other horses are already ahead of him During the race, when he sees another horse just ahead of him, he will try to pass him Sometimes the jockey holds him back to save his energy for the last stretch Eventually the horse gets to run as fast as he can The exercise boy, watching the owner's favorite jockey riding the horse he has exercised day after day, says nothing Secretly, he is planning for the day when he will be a jockey himself, and his horse will be the first to cross the finish line Most working people have fewer hours to give to time-consuming activities of clubs than they used to have, but most people in a small town belong to a club or two One of the clubs is likely to be a social and benevolent organization, such as the Rotary or Elks Business people are likely to belong, also to either the Kiwanis Club or the Lions Such business people's organizations may meet as often as once a week in one of the private dining rooms of the town's leading hotel for lunch They have a good lunch, hear a good program, and continue their fundraising program for a worthy organization, such as a local hospital Making Subjects and Verbs Agree This handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb She and her friends are at the fair When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb The book or the pen is in the drawer When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb The boy or his friends run every day His friends or the boy runs every day Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject Don't is a contraction of not and should be used only with a plural subject The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you With these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used He doesn't like it They don't like it Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase One of the boxes is open The people who listen to that music are few The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring The woman with all the dogs walks down my street The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb Each of these hot dogs is juicy Everybody knows Mr Jones Either is correct Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs The news is on at six Note: the word dollars is a special case When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required Five dollars is a lot of money Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs (There are two parts to these things.) These scissors are dull Those trousers are made of wool In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb Since there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows There are many questions There is a question 10 Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as: group, team, committee, class, and family The team runs during practice The committee decides how to proceed The family has a long history My family has never been able to agree 11 Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well not change the number of the subject If the subject is singular, the verb is too The President, accompanied by his wife, is travelling to India All of the books, including yours, are in that box Legal Information Will you wait for me Jane is the bus stop? her bedroom Daria's books are lying the floor The girls didn't want to spend a long time I let the cat sit Do you live Trent arrived the carnival my lap, but then suddenly it jumped the city or my face! the country? the school building just in time The rancher built a fence to keep his cows Kevin and Mack are out practicing 10 From afar, Heathcliff could see a light the pasture the football field the window 11 The old house had so much grime hardly see inside the windows that Bradley could 12 The shepherd boy grazed his flock the grassy hillside 13 The audience threw tomatoes 14 Wrestling isn't real; those guys 15 David works the terrible comedian the ring are just pretending the field of network administration, while Marty works web design 16 The car stalled and got stuck the street 17 Audrey lives Third Street 18 If William doesn't make any money on his book, he'll be out 19 I'll use my cellular phone when I'm the street the bus, but never while I'm the car 20 Passengers are not allowed to use electronic devices takeoff and landing airplanes during Complete the following sentences with the correct preposition: at, in, or on Will you wait for me _ the bus stop? Jane is _ her bedroom Daria's books are lying _ the floor The girls didn't want to spend a long time _ the carnival I let the cat sit _ my lap, but then suddenly it jumped _ my face! Do you live _ the city or _ the country? Trent arrived _ the school building just in time The rancher built a fence to keep his cows _ the pasture Kevin and Mack are out practicing _ the football field 10 From afar, Heathcliff could see a light _ the window 11 The old house had so much grime _ the windows that Bradley could hardly see inside 12 The shepherd boy grazed his flock _ the grassy hillside 13 The audience threw tomatoes _ the terrible comedian 14 Wrestling isn't real; those guys _ the ring are just pretending 15 David works _ the field of network administration, while Marty works _ web design 16 The car stalled and got stuck _ the street 17 Audrey lives _ Third Street 18 If William doesn't make any money on his book, he'll be out _ the street 19 I'll use my cellular phone when I'm _ the bus, but never while I'm _ the car 20 Passengers are not allowed to use electronic devices _ airplanes during takeoff and landing Adjective or Adverb Exercise #1 Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Choose the correct item from the choices in the parentheses: He (correct, correctly) defined the terms The answer sounded (correctly, correct) She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees She adapted (quick, quickly) to any situation He measured the floor (exact, exactly) They proved to be (perfectly, perfect) (exact, exactly) measurements The stillness of the tomb was (awfully, awful) The tomb was (awfully, awful) still It was a (dangerously, dangerous) lake to swim in The man was (dangerous, dangerously) drunk The gas smelled (dangerously,dangerous) She performed (magnificent, magnificently) It was a (magnificent, magnificently) beautiful performance Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful) She sang the song (exact, exactly) as it was written We heard it (perfectly, perfect) He was a very (sensibly, sensible) person He acted very (sensible, sensibly) Mike wrote too (slow, slowly) on the exam He always writes (slow, slowly) 10 Talk (softly, soft) or don't talk at all The music played (softly, soft) 11 Andrea knows the material very (good, well) She always treats us (good, well) 12 You must send payments (regular, regularly) We deal on a (strictly, strict) cash basis 13 The mechanic's tools were (well, good) The foreman said that his work was (good, well) done 14 She worked (careful, carefully) with the sick child She was a very (careful, carefully) worker 15 He did not pass the course as (easy, easily) as he thought he would 16 I find this novel very (interesting, interestingly) It was (interesting, interestingly) written Adjective or Adverb: Exercise Choose the correct form of the word to complete the sentence.Click on the check your answers button to check your answers (For a non-interactive version of this quiz, please visit our printer-friendly version ) PLEASE NOTE: The answer numbers on this quiz not correspond to the question numbers Each drop-down answer has a separate number even if it belongs to a differently numbered question We're aware that it's confusing and we're going to switch to a new system Terrence plays quarterback as The game as Brian hardly begun before it started to rain This was a mild winter Jane behaves more than Joan When you are a parent, you will think I felt about not having done Whether you win is not Does your car run to Western listeners enough to enter the race? enough to go out at night on my own 11 You can see the distant mountains 12 Our team was with these binoculars sharp last Saturday afternoon during the game 13 You must send payments We deal on a 14 The mechanic's tools were 15 She worked on my final exams as important as how you play Asian music often sounds 10 I felt about children cash basis The foreman said that his work was with the sick child She was a very 16 He did not pass the course as as he thought he would done worker 17 I find this novel very It was written Adjective or Adverb Exercise #2 Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab In the following sentences, cross out the incorrect words and write in the correct form in the blanks If the sentence is correct as it is, write "correct" in the blank Terrence plays quarterback as well as Brian. _ The game hadn't hardly begun before it started to rain. This was sure a mild winter. Jane behaves more pleasant than Joan. When you are a parent, you will think different about children. _ I felt badly about not having done good on my final exams. _ Whether you win is not near as important as how you play. _ Asian music often sounds oddly to Western listeners. Does your car run well enough to enter the race? _ 10 I felt safely enough to go out at night on my own. _ 11 You can see the distant mountains clear with these binoculars. 12 Our team was real sharp last Saturday afternoon during the game. _ Check your answers at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esladjadvA2.html Prepositions of Direction: To, On (to), In (to) Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct preposition: to, toward, on, onto, in, or into Some sentences may have more than one possible correct answer If this is the case, choose the option that contains both correct answers Remember that a few verbs of motion take only "on" rather than "onto." Click on the check your answers button to check your answers (For a non-interactive version of this quiz, please visit our printer-friendly version ) Anna has returned The dog jumped Are the boys still swimming her home town the lake the pool? Thomas fell the floor The plane landed We drove the runway the river for an hour, but turned north before we reached it The kids climbed the monkey bars Joanna got Fred's car The baby spilled his cereal the floor 10 We cried to the man on the ladder, "Hang 11 I just called say I love you 12 Matthew and Michelle moved the table 13 Allan left your keys !" the dining room the table 14 Dr Karper apologized for interrupting us, and told us to carry 15 I'd like 16 Pat drove Mike 17 Glenn almost fell ask you a question the airport the river 18 The waitress noticed that there was no more Diet Pepsi 19 Lee and Sarah took the bus that was heading 20 Mary Sue jumped with our discussion Marty's glass the university the stage and danced PLEASE NOTE: The answer numbers on this quiz not correspond to the question numbers Each drop-down answer has a separate number even if it belongs to a differently numbered question We're aware that it's confusing and we're going to switch to a new system Prepositions of Direction: To, On (to), In (to): Exercises Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab Complete the following sentences with the correct preposition: to, toward, on, onto, in, or into Some sentences may have more than one possible correct answer Remember that a few verbs of motion take only "on" rather than "onto." Anna has returned her home town The dog jumped the lake Are the boys still swimming the pool? Thomas fell the floor The plane landed the runway We drove _ the river for an hour, but turned north before we reached it The kids climbed the monkey bars Joanna got Fred's car The baby spilled his cereal the floor 10 We cried to the man on the ladder, "Hang !" 11 I just called say I love you 12 Matthew and Michelle moved the table the dining room 13 Allan left your keys the table 14 Dr Karper apologized for interrupting us, and told us to carry with our discussion 15 I'd like ask you a question 16 Pat drove Mike the airport 17 Glenn almost fell the river 18 The waitress noticed that there was no more Diet Pepsi Marty's glass 19 Lee and Sarah took the bus that was heading the university 20 Mary Sue jumped the stage and danced  ... program, and continue their fundraising program for a worthy organization, such as a local hospital Making Subjects and Verbs Agree This handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and. .. ridden, to the grandstand He is led under the grandstand into an unusual, special stall The horse is nervous Sometimes he does not know what to when the starting gate flies open and the track is... led, not ridden, to grandstand He is led under grandstand into unusual, special stall Horse is nervous Sometimes he does not know what to when starting gate flies open and track is before him