EXERCISE 1: SUBJECT AND VERB
Write the simple subject (without modifiers or other related words) in the first blank and the verb, verb phrase, or compound verb in the second blank. In some sentences, the subject may be understood.
1.) Three gray pigeons were sitting on the bench. ______
2.) He ran to the car and opened the door. ______
3.) Only in early spring can one find violets. ______
4.) The reason for his refusal was not known. ______
5.) Some of the players forgot their lines. ______
6.) Listening to the noise hour after hour grew tiresome. ______
7.) He dived into the water and swam to the raft. ______
8.) Both of us, Ralph and I, were accepted. ______
9.) In such troubled times, could he have done any differently? ______
10.) There were a knife and two guns in his car. ______
11.) Out of the locker room burst the determined team. ______
12.) Have any others had cause for complaint? ______
13.) There proved to be only two items missing. ______
14.) None of his reports was fully trusted. ______
15.) The real meaning of the event, according to historians, ______
was obscured by the newspapers.
16.) All sources investigated were listed in the report. ______
17.) Stopping for a little rest was sufficient. ______
18.) The men and the mice should be separated. ______
19.) Mary, having forseen the disaster, had already called the police. ______
20.) Laughing and shouting, we carried him off the field. ______
21.) Here are the necessary tools. ______
22.) These are the best tools available. ______
23.) But Joe, unwilling to hurt anyone, refused to fight. ______
24.) The size of the desert and the desolation awed me. ______
25.) In spite of all our pleading, he resigned as president. ______
EXERCISE 2 : KINDS OF SENTENCES
Classify the following sentences by using the appropriate abbreviation.
S – Simple Cplex – Complex Cpd – Compound CC – Compound-Complex
1.) I read the book in two hours, for it was short. ______
2.) I read the book in two hours because it was short. ______
3.) I read the book in two hours because of its shortness. ______
4.) Bill rowed and I bailed water. ______
5.) He asked when we would arrive and when we would leave. ______
6.) Whom were you talking about? ______
7.) The man whom we wanted had moved away. ______
8.) We had to gather leaves, mount them in notebooks, identify them ______
and label them.
9.) By the third week we had grown weary of his nagging and had ______
resolved to put it to an end.
10.) After searching for three hours, we came upon the camp and found ______
the others waiting for us.
11.) After we searched for three hours, we came upon the camp, where ______
we found the others waiting for us.
12.) After we searched for three hours, we came upon the camp, and ______
there we found the others waiting for us.
13.) Climbing the mountain was difficult, but the view from the top ______
was worth it.
14.) The trail was dangerous, and so we moved slowly and carefully. ______
15.) The trail was so dangerous that we had to move slowly and ______
carefully.
16.) The danger of the trail forced us to move slowly and carefully. ______
17.) Although the mountain was steep, Jack climbed slowly ______
upward, and I followed.
18.) It was getting dark, but we pressed on. ______
19.) In spite of the dark, we pressed on. ______
20.) Although it was getting dark, we pressed on. ______
EXERCISE 3: SENTENCE FRAGMENTS
Each of the following paragraphs contains one fragment. Write its number in the blank below the paragraph.
1. (1) History as taught by Professor Hartfield was a dull subject. (2) Innumerable dates, innumerable names, numbers killed in battles, and so on, all to be memorized. (3) Quite otherwise was the interest in Professor Speck’s class. (4) The analysis of broad trends and the application of lessons from the past to the current scene were his main interests.
______
2. (1) In our dean of men’s judgment, in such cases, I have complete confidence. (2) All the witnesses are allowed to testify at length and without interruption. (3) Irrelevancies are pointed out. (4) Then comes his decision. (5) Calm, impartial, just, and with no regard at all to the student’s previous record.
______
3. (1) Now his goals had been reached. (2) A fine home, a steady and large income, and more than adequate reserves to meet unexpected calls on his reserves. (3) Yet there was a growing uneasiness. (4) What of the future? (5) Was material security in itself sufficient for happiness?
______
4. (1) In modern big business the accountant plays a tremendously important role. (2) Keeping down costs of manufacturing, for example, and helping in making financial decisions are some of his tasks. (3) Compare such work with tasks assigned to the accountant in former years. (4) Checking on the accuracy of records was his major task. (5) Balancing debits and credits, auditing cash accounts, and so one, but also making the yearly financial statements.
______
5. (1) He knew that this was to be the final meeting. (2) They realized it too. (3) There they were. (4) Those who had supported him, those who had opposed him, and those who had played it safe. (5)Somehow it did not seem to matter now—their loyalty or their disloyalty.
______
6. (1) Essentially they are alike. (2) Motors, transmissions, and bodies follow similar designs. (3) Features of greater comfort in one are offset by comparable features in the others. (4) Yet one outsells the others by far. (5) The explanation lying chiefly in external aspects of style and color that promote neither greater safety nor superior performance.
______
7. (1) In retrospect it seems odd that certain manufacturers could not anticipate any drastic changes in the demands for their products. (2) Such companies as those that manufactured kerosene lamps, horse drawn vehicles, and streetcars. (3) They failed to diversify and to seek new products. (4) Stubbornly they persevered. (5) And bankruptcy followed.
______
8. (1) Certainly that curriculum was well planned to give me a command of the fundamental principles of engineering. (2) There was no doubt that after graduation I would be able to earn a good salary. (3) Certain grave doubts, nevertheless, persisted. (4) Because education should mean more than a preparation for earning a living. (5) I therefore sought a curriculum that was not quite so technical in requirements.
______
9. (1) My favorites in poets seem almost old-fashioned today. (2) I like authors who communicate easily with persons of average intelligence and knowledge. (3)Clarity of language, clarity of thought, and lines that are not excessively allusive or symbolic. (4) Wordsworth and Robert Frost, for example, give me great pleasure. (5) And I turn to poetry for pleasure, not for puzzles.
______
10. (1) What guides voters in their choice of candidates has been my study of late. (2) Party loyalties, of course, guide some. (3) Others are influenced on the stands candidates take on issues. (4) But how many are influenced by irrelevancies! (5) The toothpaste smile, the pious platitude, the solemn and vague generalizations!
______
EXERCISE 4: COMMA SPLICE AND RUN-0N SENTENCES
Write the appropriate abbreviation in the blank to the right.
CS – Comma Splice RO – Run On C – Correct Punctuation
1. He agreed with the main points of the theme the lack of clear ______
organization annoyed him.
2. H agreed with the main points of the theme, the lack of clear ______
organization annoyed him.
3. He agreed with the main points of the theme, however, the lack of clear ______
organization annoyed him.
4. He agreed with the main points of the theme; however, the lack of clear ______
organization annoyed him.
5. He agreed with the main points of the theme, but the lack of clear ______
organization annoyed him.
6. In questions of grammar Professor Smith was permissive, but Professor ______
Thompson is inclined to be authoritative.
7. I like the permissive viewpoint, nevertheless it can be carried too far. ______
8. The fact that certain usages are common does not necessarily make them ______
desirable.
9. Consider what would happen if we adopted the extremely permissive ______
approach to morals, we would have chaos.
10. On the other hand, describing certain usages as wrong even though good ______
writers regularly employ them is illogical.
11. Both Tennyson and Browning used a great variety of styles, nevertheless ______
their poems are always distinctively their own.
12. A few of Tennyson’s poems are somewhat effeminate, rugged strength ______
characterizes many of the best.
13. Having learned that a symphony often led to true appreciation, I decided ______
that King Lear merited several re-readings.
14. It worked, I am beginning to appreciate the great power of the play. ______
15. For a time I listened to myself talk, I speedily stopped making certain ______
errors.
16. I love that poem, it’s the best he ever wrote. ______
17. All the major items of business having been disposed of, we ______
decided to postpone the others and adjourn.
18. They scored again after that we had no hope. ______
19. In his later year Wordsworth lost his power, in fact I find the ______
last poems dull.
20. He then transferred to this college, where he found an entirely different ______
atmosphere.
EXERCISE 5: VERB FORMS
In the blank below the sentence put the correct form of the verbs in parentheses.
1. Too many have (begin) to believe that such laws may be (break) with impunity.
______
2. Despite the referee’s warnings, he had (throw) punches after the bell had (ring).
______
3. Despite the bitterness with which he had (speak), I refused to be (draw) into an argument.
______
4. The boat could not have (sink); the entire lake was (freeze).
______
5. The boat has (spring) a leak, and all of them had jumped out and (swim) to shore.
______
6. The storm had (blow) down all the pines in 1960, but by 1968 some of the new pines had already (grow) tall.
______
7. He grabbed the bully and (shake) him as hard as the bully had (shake) the child.
______
8. The letters I had (write) him gave detailed instructions, but he had not (take) my advice.
______
9. I have (know) the time when he would have immediately (spring) to my defense.
______
10. We have (take) all your warnings into consideration, but we have not (shrink) from our duty.
______
11. The songs we (sing) are seldom (sing) today.
______
12. Before he had (swim) a few yards, he (come) to realize how dangerous the waters were.
______
13. “For he on honey-dew hath fed, And (drink) the milk of Paradise.”
______
EXERCISE 6: SET, SIT; RAISE, RISE; LAY, LIE
Fill in the blanks.
1. I could not get the print to (lie, lay) flat on the table. ______
2. He (sits, sets) high prices on his merchandise. ______
3. The moon had (raised, rose, risen) early. ______
4. The mother had (sat, set) up all night with her sick child. ______
5. If the water (raises, rises) higher we shall leave. ______
6. We had (laid, lain, layed) a brick walk. ______
7. How can he (sit, set) in that rocker so long? ______
8. He (rose, raised) to his feet in one swift movement. ______
9. Many have (rose, risen) to such positions from even humbler backgrounds. ______
10. We had (rose, risen) before dawn. ______
11. You should have done it before you (set, sat) down. ______
12. (Sit, set) it here. ______
13. It must be done before the cake begins to (rise, raise). ______
14. Several of the members had already (rose, risen) to their feet. ______
15. He (laid, lay) there for almost four hours. ______
16. (Set, Sit) still until I tell you to rise. ______
17. I had (laid, layed, lain) out the exact route to be followed. ______
18. He had not (raised, rose) the slightest objection. ______
19. She fell on the couch and (lay, laid) there sobbing. ______
20. (Sit, Set) you own house in order first. ______
EXERCISE 7: SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT
Fill in the blanks.
1. The chief obstacle (was, were) the amendments to the bill. ______
2. Staring at us through the window were the twins. ______
3. Either you or she (is, are) to be responsible for the sound effects. ______
4. A synthesis of these points (is, are) needed. ______
5. The superior junior or senior (does, do) not need all these regulations. ______
6. His chief target (is, are) the trustees. ______
7. Not every one of Shakespeare’s plays (is, are) suitable for study in high school. ______
8. Interest and understanding, not memorizing, (is, are) what he stresses. ______
9. The guide, as well as we boys, (was, were) aware of the dangers. ______
10. In the drawer (was, were) the original manuscript and the notes. ______
11. Time and tide (waits, wait) for no person. ______
12. Neither of the candidates (expects, expect) to win easily. ______
13. Everyone on the committee (receives, receive) copies of the minutes. ______
14. The biographical details (was, were) the part I liked the least. ______