AccelePrep for the ACT Test 2nd Edition Student Text

C HAPTER 2 | H YPER P REP E NGLISH • 31

In each of these three sentences, the subject and verb do not agree: Dz’‡”ˆ‘”‡”• Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ ‡ƒ”•ǡdz Dz†‡ϐ‹…‹– Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ…ƒ—•‡ǡdz ƒ† DzŠ‘—•‡Š‘Ž† Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ •–ƒ†Ǥdz However, the errors may not be obvious because of the intervening ƒ–‡”‹ƒŽǤ  –Š‡ ϐ‹”•– •‡–‡…‡ǡ –Š‡ •—„Œ‡…– ‹• •‡’ƒ”ƒ–‡† ˆ”‘ –Š‡ ˜‡”„ „› prepositional phrases. In the second sentence, the subject and the verb are separated by a parenthetical expression. In the third sentence, a clause intervenes between the subject and the verb. Watch out for words or phrases near the verb that might be mistaken for the subject, as in the above examples: “television . . . earns,” “wages . . . …ƒ—•‡ǡdz ƒ† Dz…ƒ”‡‡”• Ǥ Ǥ Ǥ •–ƒ†Ǥdz ˆ –Š‡ ϐ‹”•– ™‘”† ‘ˆ ‡ƒ…Š ‘ˆ –Š‡•‡ ’ƒ‹”• Šƒ† been the subject, then there would have been no failure of agreement. A second common problem of subject-verb agreement is inverted sentence structure. In an inverted sentence, the verb precedes the subject. You should pay careful attention to the connection between subject and verb, no matter how those elements are ordered. Ž–Š‘—‰Š –Š‡ ϐ‹”•– ƒ‡†‡– –‘ –Š‡ ‘•–‹–—–‹‘ †‘‡• ‰—ƒ”ƒ–‡‡ freedom of speech, the Supreme Court has long recognized that there has to be some restrictions on the exercise of this right. 8 Jennifer must have been doubly pleased that day, for seated in the gallery to watch her receive the award was her brother, her parents, and her husband. 8 In both of these sentences, the subjects and verbs do not agree. The relationships are obscured by the order in which the elements appear in the sentence—the verbs come before the subjects. These sentences should read: Ž–Š‘—‰Š –Š‡ ϐ‹”•– ƒ‡†‡– –‘ –Š‡ ‘•–‹–—–‹‘ †‘‡• ‰—ƒ”ƒ–‡‡ freedom of speech, the Supreme Court has long recognized that there have to be some restrictions on the exercise of this right. 9 Jennifer must have been doubly pleased that day, for seated in the gallery to watch her receive the award were her brother, her parents, and her husband. 9 Finally, be alert for compound subjects. Usually, when the subject of a sentence consists of two or more elements joined by the conjunction “and,” the subject is considered plural and requires a plural verb. Consider the following example: Of the seven candidates, only John, Bill, and Jim ™ƒ• ’ƒ•– ‘ˆϐ‹…‡ Š‘Ž†‡”•Ǥ 8 The subject, “John, Bill, and Jim,” is compound (joined by “and”) and requires the plural verb “were”—even though the individual nouns are singular. Example:

POWER TIP Whack down the word weeds. When you are trying to check for subject-verb agreement, isolate the subject and verb. Ignore the extra words and phrases between the subject and verb.

INVERTED SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Examples:

Examples:

COMPOUND SUBJECTS

POWER TIP When elements of the subject are joined by “or,” the verb must agree with the element nearest to it. Of the seven candidates, John, Bill, or Jim is likely to win. The elements are joined by “or,” so the verb must agree with the closest element, “Jim.”