UH-Victoria

Correct each of the following sentences by identifying its simple subject and determining whether the subject is singular or plural (you may need to refer the rules discussed on the Subject/Verb Agreement Part 1 and Part 2 handouts). To check whether you have made the correct verb choice, substitute it for singular subjects or they for plural subjects to check whether the core of the sentence agrees in number.

1. Criteria for the position (include, includes) good communication, writing, and organizational skills.
2. None of the assignment sheets (specify, specifies) the correct due dates.
3. Members of the public relations committee often (disagree, disagrees) about the amount of funds to be used on various publicity campaigns.
4. Anyone wanting to take this course (need, needs) to contact the instructor prior to registration.
5. There (are, is) several servings of pie left over from our Thanksgiving dinner at Terry’s house.
6. An instructor’s educational philosophy and teaching methods (do, does) not always correspond with one another.
7. Either Tom or Jerry (manage, manages) to get into trouble at least once each day.
8. Growing Pains (are, is) periodically shown on stations such as the Disney channel.
9. As technology advances, competition between companies such as Microsoft and Netscape (become, becomes) increasingly intense.
10. Anxious to escape the fire, the crowd hurriedly (flee, flees) the burning building.
11. The collection of canned goods (were, was) delivered to the Salvation Army yesterday morning.
12. The university’s curriculum (emphasize, emphasizes) the importance of acquiring general knowledge and basic skills from a variety of courses.
13. Each theorist (maintain, maintains) a different viewpoint on the learning process.
14. All the money collected at the fundraiser (go, goes) directly to the American Red Cross.
15. After hearing the closing arguments, the jury of six men and six women (review, reviews) the evidence to determine the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
16. There (are, is) anecdotal evidence supporting the existence of alien life forms in the United States.
17. Physics (underlie, underlies) nearly all concepts for publication by one of the most respected journals in the area of forensic psychology.
18. The student’s thesis (were, was) accepted for publication by one of the most respected journals in the area of forensic psychology.
19. Neither the piano nor the drums (produce, produces) the ideal sound needed for the group’s song.
20. Any of these subjects (make, makes) excellent research topics.

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