Name __________________________ Student Number _________________ Class Number___________
Exercise 1: Subject and Predicate
Instructions:
Read the excerpt from “ Room with View --- and No People” by Nora Ephron.
We talk a lot about the fact that no one ever sits in the living room. It makes us all sad. The living
room is the prettiest room in the apartment. It has a fireplace and moldings. It has a slice of a view of the
river. It is a cheerful room furnished in light colors. It always looks neat and tidy.
Analyze
1.Underline the verbs talk and sits in the first sentence. Follow this guide and continue underlining all the verbs throughout the passage. (Note: One of them consists of more than one word.)
2.Then circle we and no one in the first sentence. These are the subjects of the verbs. They tell us who or what is talking and sitting. Again, follow this lead and continue circling all the subjects throughout the rest of the passage. (Some of the subjects consist of more than one word.)
3.In each sentence, use a slash ( / ) to separate the subject you have circled from the rest of the sentence. Example:
We / talk about a lot of things.
What you are doing is separating the subject from the predicate. The predicate in a simple sentence
is composed of the verb and what comes after it.
4.The reading passage above consists of eight sentences. Look at them closely and, with your peer (other students), make a list of the features that are common to all these sentences and also to all sentences in general (for example, one feature is that each sentence begins with a capital letter).
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(This activity is adapted from the book “How English Works” by Ann Raimes)
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Exercise 2: Writing sentences
Instructions: Free write (write) as quickly and as many as you can, your perceptions/reactions to the
picture. Follow the subject-predicate structure when writing your sentences.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________________________
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6. ____________________________________________________________________________________
7. ____________________________________________________________________________________
8. ____________________________________________________________________________________
9. ____________________________________________________________________________________
10. ___________________________________________________________________________________
Exercise 3: Requirements of a Written Sentence
Instructions: Analyze and identify the errors in your sentences in Exercise 1. Then, rewrite them following the requirements of a written sentence.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________________________
4. ____________________________________________________________________________________
5. ____________________________________________________________________________________
6. ____________________________________________________________________________________
7. ____________________________________________________________________________________
8. ____________________________________________________________________________________
9. ____________________________________________________________________________________
10. ___________________________________________________________________________________
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Exercise 4: S-V Agreement
Instructions: Choose the correct form of the verb from the options and write it in the
blank lines.
1.In autumn, leaves ________ (change/changes) color from green to brown or red.
2.Either my mother or my relatives __________ (deserve/deserves) the blame.
3.Neither my teacher nor my classmates _________ (has/have) to be blamed.
4.Either my relatives or my mother _________ (deserve/deserves) the blame.
5.Neither my mother nor my relatives _________ (has/have) to be blamed.
6.His parents ______ (is/are) Chinese, but mine _______ (is/are) Japanese.
7.His mother ______ (is/are) Chinese, but mine ______ (is/are) Japanese.
8.Every child _______(like/likes) to play with toys.
9.Each child ______ (has/have) a toy.
10.Each of the toys _______ (has/have) to be repaired.
11.Everybody__________ (want/wants) to achieve financial wealth.
12.No one ________ (has/have) any time.
13.Both of the girls ______ (want/wants) to dance.
14.No children _________ (dislike/dislikes) toys.
15.No child ______ (dislike/dislikes) ice cream.
16.To decorate a home ________ (take/takes) time.
17. My daughter loves her younger sisters, who _______ (is/are) so lovable.
18. My son loves his sister younger sister, who ________(is/are) so lovable.
19.The problems [that] the student experienced _______ (are/were) troubling.
20.The man [whom] the journalists want to interview_____( is/are) a politician.
21.There ______ (is/are) no cabinets in the kitchen.
22.There ______ (is/are) some rivalry between siblings.
23.There ______ (is/are) some toys on the sofa.
24. One of the boys ______ (is/are) playing with fire.
25.A lot of girls ________ (play/plays) volleyball.
26.Some parents _______ (is/are) lenient.
27.Some of the parents _______ (is/are) strict.
28.None of the boys _______ (is/are) playing.
29.All boys _______ (play/plays) basketball.
30.All of the boys _______ (play/plays) soccer.
Exercise 2
Instructions: Insert an appropriate form of be into each sentence.
1.There _________ some oranges in the bowl on the table.
2.There _________ a lot of money in my purse.
3.There _________ several students absent.
4.There _________ no furniture in the living room.
5.There _________ no news about the competition.
6.There _________ a lot unanswered questions about the issue.
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