delivery, essay, wife
161. Smith, Jones, O’Toole
162. leaf, pitch, copy
163. son-in-law, kangaroo, tooth
164. alumnus, mass medium, Woods
165. species, statistic, vice president
Sorting Singular and Plural Pronouns
166–195 Identify the singular (S) and/or plural (P) pronouns in the sentence.
166. Isaac asked his aunt to reduce her workload, but she refused.
167. As the children opened their presents, they told Santa how great his selections were.
168. We must apply sunscreen to our arms, according to my mother.
169. “Where is your sneaker?” asked the babysitter as he searched the room I share with my little sister.
170. “Your yoga class will be delayed an hour,” I announced when the students had gathered in front of their lockers.
171. A friend of mine wants to go on vacation with Molly and Angie, but they prefer to travel by themselves.
172. The cookies are in his pocket; I saw them myself.
173. The football coach remarked, “Everyone is counting on you,” but I was too stressed to play.
174. Something is wrong with the computer because it blinks constantly and flashes a warning sign every hour.
175. Several of the engineers have examined the platform and declared it safe, but when someone screamed, everyone ran.
176. One of the books has an index, but those on the top shelf do not, so we use them infrequently.
177. Both of us entered the international math competition; however, no one from our country won.
178. Neither of my uncles attended the graduation ceremony, so the principal mailed a diploma to both.
179. The talk show host directed the question to the audience, but someone on stage answered it anyway.
180. All of the birds flew to the pond, but most of the water had evaporated, and they soon left.
181. Either of the restaurants is fine with me if anyone would like to stop for a snack.
182. Arthur located most of the films, but a few were hard to find, so we had to substitute others.
183. The hungry man asked me to give him some of my sandwiches.
184. Someone rang the bell, but no one was there when Judy opened the door, expecting to see her brother.
185. Everyone was required to bring a swimsuit to camp, but Anna forgot to pack hers.
186. All of the orange juice spilled, but no one wiped the table until Billy called the manager and asked for help.
187. Each of Bobby’s bicycles is missing one wheel, but Bobby thinks both of the bikes can be repaired.
188. Much of Gene’s trouble stems from his reliance on everyone’s admiration.
189. Sharla and Alex like one tattoo but hate the other; they have mixed opinions about mine, a blue star.
190. The shoes that Mark bought weren’t comfortable, but they were more stylish than anything else he purchased yesterday.
191. Someone who should know better washed my best pair of pants in hot water.
192. The branches that tapped on the window made too much noise, so I trimmed them.
193. While she waited to hear the winner’s name announced, Lulu, who had bought three lottery tickets, crossed her fingers for luck.
194. The envelope and writing paper, which were stored in the desk, are hers, but the stapler is mine.
195. The doctor treated eight patients who were stricken by the same disease, which was fatal for nearly all.
Chapter 4
Reaching an Agreement: Pairing Subjects and Verbs
In real life, respectful disagreement can be helpful. In grammar, disagreement is disastrous! The subject — who or what you're talking about — and the verb (the action or state of being) must match, or agree. A singular subject pairs with a singular verb form and a plural subject pairs with a plural verb form. In this chapter, you find the subject and then play matchmaker between subjects and verbs. (If you have trouble identifying the verb, turn to Chapters 1 and 2 for extra help.)
The Questions You’ll Work On
In this chapter, you work on questions that cover the following concepts:
Finding the subject in statements, questions, and commands
Identifying compound subjects and pronouns acting as subjects
Choosing the correct verb for every subject-verb pair
What to Watch Out For
Keep these points in mind when you’re answering the questions in this chapter:
To find the subject, first locate the verb(s) in the sentence. Ask who? or what? is performing the action or is in the state of being expressed by the verb.
Don’t be fooled by location. Most subjects appear before the verb, but some follow the verb. Use your reading comprehension skills to answer the who? or what? questions.
Most subjects and verbs show up with descriptions attached. Ignore distracting words or phrases and concentrate on the real subject-verb pair.
Verb forms used as descriptions or nouns may resemble verbs without functioning as the verb in the sentence. When you ask who? or what? to find the subject, be sure you’re working from the real verb.
The subject in a command may be an understood but not stated, you.
Pronouns acting as subjects can be tricky. Check out Chapter 3 for help distinguishing singular and plural pronouns.
Locating the Subject
196–215 Identify the subject(s) in the sentence.
196.
