HUNTER COLLEGE READING/WRITING CENTER
GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
The Verb System: Subject-Verb Agreement
(Exercise C)


1.       Read the following paragraph.  Then go back and look at each 
sentence.  Circle the subjects and underline the main verbs.  If 
the subject and verb do not agree, write in the correct form of the 
verb.  Remember that the object of a preposition cannot be the 
subject of a sentence.    


        The Eagle Creek Trail, one of the most frequently hiked trails

in the Columbia River Gorge, climb fourteen miles into the Cascade

Mountains. The trail's most striking feature are the number of

waterfalls along its length. The first of these several waterfalls

are visible from a viewpoint only a mile and a half from the

trailhead. At two and a half miles, hikers arrive at Punch Bowl

Falls. Here the water continue to carve a deep pool, which gives

the falls its name. Many hikers rest here briefly. Beyond Punch

Bowl Falls rise High Bridge. This steel span crosses a narrow

gorge. The creek bed is at least fifty feet below the bridge

level. The waters at this point flows through a channel only five

or six feet wide. Persistent hikers eventually reach Tunnel Falls.

Here the trail literally tunnel behind an otherwise impassable

waterfall. Such a dramatic landscape make the Eagle Creek Trail a

popular place in the summer. 2. In each sentence below, circle the subject and underline the main verb. If the subject and verb agree, place a C on the line below. If the subject and verb do not agree, rewrite the sentence so that the verb agrees with its subject. 1. The groups that rafts the Colorado River goes home deeply affected by the experience.___________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 2. Neither of these auditioners are right for the part.__________ ______________________________________________________________________ 3. Neither the witnesses nor the police officer were able to identify the hit-and-run driver positively.___________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 5. Either you or the other driver were responsible for the accident._____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 6. That band play a spirited rendition of "Stars and Stripes Forever."_____________________________________________________________ 7. Some of this essay is absolutely brilliant.___________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 8. Do anyone want the rest of my sandwich?_______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 9. The entire gaggle of geese wobble in unison down to the pond. ______________________________________________________________________ 10. The jury find the defendant not guilty._______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 11. Each person in the class are going to do great things.________ ______________________________________________________________________ 12. Every ferret in the shop looks like it has rabies.____________ ______________________________________________________________________ 3. The sentences below contain relative clauses, clauses introduced by that, which, or who. Underline the correct verb form(s) in each sentence and draw a line connecting each verb to its subject. 1. Weeks that is/are as rainy as this one make/makes me sleepy. 2. She will ask one of the students who arrive/arrives on time to help her distribute the new assignment. 3. The Gary Larson cartoon that you like/likes is/are posted on the bulletin board. 4. The mayor says that decisions that affect/affects us all should be decided by the city council rather than the city manager 5. One of the contestants who enter/enters will win a trip for two to Key West, Florida. 6. She is one of those comediennes who make/makes audiences laugh/laughs out of embarrassment. 7. The restaurants that the group frequent/frequents is/are all downtown. 8. Each of the members who vote/votes have/has a duty to keep the ballot a secret. 9. Which pup in the litter seem/seems the most affectionate? 10. Chen's is the only family that cook/cooks together every night.

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