UH-Victoria

Exercise 6

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. John’s views on hot political topics (has, have) caused many people to become angry.
2. The organization’s department of community awareness (submit, submits) annually reports for the district.
3. The most devastated by the hurricane (was, were) the communities along the Gulf shore.
4. The debates over freedom of the press (cause, causes) journalists to make hard decisions regarding a person’s right to privacy.
5. My friends’ cousin, who lives in Arkansas, (believes, believe) that everyone who lives in Texas (own, owns) a ranch.
6. A person who (travel, travels) all over the world and (experience, experiences cultural differences (become, becomes) aware of the person he wants to be.
7. Either David or Brenda (schedule, schedules) all appointments for the professor.
8. These two people (work, works) for the phone company.
9. The local newspaper, in conjunction with the many area small businesses, (is developing, are developing) an internship program for teens.
10. The audience of young children and their parents (sit, sits) in excited anticipation.
11. (Is, Are) there rooms available at the Ramada Inn on the weekend?
12. To avoid any conflict in the office, Mr. Phelps (ask, asks) Susan to assist him with writing in an inclusive language.
13. Statistics (is, are) a required class for many degree plans.
14. Everyone (seems, seem) to be having a most enjoyable evening.
15. The radii among the problems assigned (is, are) 16, 4, and 8.
16. Recent studies show that positive parental involvement and supportive professional teacher/ student relationships greatly (impact, impacts) a student’s outlook on school.
17. How many articles on using vocabulary in the content area (are, is) listed?
18. The Parks and Wildlife Department’s “Fishing Extravaganza” and “Fried Catfish Cook Off” (begins, begin) on the first of June.
19. The committee to regulate the types of food sold on campuses across the school district (reconvene, reconvenes) on Thursday.
20. Our repeated attempts to contact our state representative (show, shows) the importance of our grievance.

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