Subject-Verb Agreement- Interrupters and Inverted Sentences

Subject-Verb Agreement- Interrupters and Inverted Sentences

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Interrupters- Part I- Prepositional phrases

• INTERRUPTERS are not part of the subject. (Cross them out!) These include prepositional phrases and intervening phrases.

• Ex. The girl in the blues shoes is my sister.

• Pay attention to the subject and ignore the descriptive information.

• Ex. The houses in my neighborhood are all blue.

• Ex. The first few minutes after the test were nerve-wracking.

Multiple Choice

The tadpoles swimming around any ordinary pond (is, are) our future frogs. What's the subject?

• tadpoles

• pond

Multiple Choice

The tadpoles swimming around any ordinary pond (is, are) our future frogs.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Frogs living on the bark of a tree (has, have) a similar coloring to the bark.

• has

• have

Multiple Choice

The frog, like other amphibious creatures, (lives, live) both in water and on land. What is the subject?

• frog

• creatures

Multiple Choice

The frog, like other amphibious creatures, (lives, live) both in water and on land.

• lives

• live

Multiple Choice

Frogs, inhabiting all areas of the world, (is, are) hardy creatures.

• is

• are

Inverted Sentences

• Inverted sentences mean that the subject does not come before the verb like with questions.

• Questions are inverted. They still have to have agreement.

• Ex. Why are birds so loud in the morning?

• Some sentences are written inverted, but they are unusual.

• Ex. Atop the mountain climbs the goat.

• Sentences that begin with "here" or "there" are inverted. You must find the subject.

• There was a black cat waiting at my door when I got home.

Inverted Sentences Tip

• You can revert the sentence to help find the subject and verb and to help check if it is correct.

• Ex. Ex. Why are birds so loud in the morning?

• The birds are so loud in the morning...

• Ex. Atop the mountain climbs the goat.

• The goat climbs atop the mountain.

• There was a black cat waiting at my door when I got home.

• A black was waiting at my door...

Multiple Choice

Back to their home (fly, flies) the pigeons the very next day!

• fly

• flies

Multiple Choice

Here on the magazine cover (screams, scream) the most embarrassing headline.

• screams

• scream

Multiple Choice

Why (do, does) those two dead plants still sit on your desk?

• do

• does

Multiple Choice

(Has, Have) you ever heard stories about dumb criminals and their crimes?

• Has

• Have

Multiple Choice

On the sidewalk _________ many little lizards sunning themselves on the hot concrete.

• is

• are

• was

• were