Subject/Verb Agreement

1. Subject/Verb Agreement Don't be misled by false subjects. Change: Those tomatoes from my brother looks juicy. to: Those tomatoes from my brother look juicy. Change: Forgetting your tickets cause problems. to: Forgetting your tickets causes problems. Change: My family like to go to church together. to: My family likes to go to church together. Change: Either the table or the chairs needs repairing. to: Either the table or the chairs need repairing. Change: Neither the chairs nor the head table need repairing. to: Neither the chairs nor the head table needs repairing.

2. Activities • a. The gloves I got for Christmas is too small. • b. My knee look like it is starting to heal. • c. Breakfast and lunch always tastes great. • d. Opening the cans spoil the meat. • e. Our team don't get discouraged when we lose. • f. The bus always get me here on time. • g. The corner and the edge shows the rust first. • h. These bandages works great. • i. Neither the judge nor the jury are responsible for this. • j. Our staff and equipment is ready to serve you.

3. Activities • a. A big tree with all the trimmings make the • holidays special. • b. Anyone wearing muddy boots are to stand over there. • c. The houses by the river are the oldest. • d. The old man in the corner booth looks tired. • e. Our selection of tomatoes top them all. • f. At the foot of the dunes a small boy plays by the shore. • g. Flags of many nations flutters in the chilly breeze. • h. The shocks in my Mustang is shot. • i. The tie with the orange stripes looks bold. • j. Too many onions spoils the stew.

4. Pronoun/antecedent Agreement Change: My club is having a bake sale. These should help our finances. to: My club is having a bake sale. This should help our finances.

5. Activities • a. If the people want unsafe cars, they will get it. • b. When a person needs advice, they can go to a psychologist. • c. After the streets had been swept, it looked very clean. • d. I don't like tacos. It's too spicy. • e. The director organizes the play. They make sure everyone knows what to do. • f. Some students pick this up quickly. This person can go on to the next section. • g. Good friends, food, and a roof over your head-this is the only necessities. • h. Playing a musical instrument is a valuable experience for a child. They teach them many important things.

6. Pronoun Reference • When Andre cut his finger, he screamed out in pain. • When Andre cut his finger, it started to bleed. • Finally, he wrapped his finger in a bandage, and it stopped bleeding.

7. Eliminate any ambiguity • a. This car has a small dent. It shouldn't be much of a problem. • b. The car drove slowly along the back road. It was quite muddy. • c. I got home late from my date, which was okay. • d. The foothills were covered with flowers. They were many different varieties. • e. The beach was littered with broken glass. I think the park service should look into it. • f. I like his ideas about fall gardens. They just make sense. • g. Whenever the ladies made gingerbread men for the children, they looked delighted. • h. Miss Waldman said if I worked hard I could still get an A or a B, but it didn't happen. • i. The sun was hot, and although the water was polluted, it made me want to dive in anyhow • j. The faster I walked, the more water spilled out of the bucket, and it became a real nuisance.

8. Shift in Tense Change: We went into Bruno's and ordered a pizza. The waitress comes over and brings us our drinks. I can see she's going to spill one. to: We went into Bruno's and ordered a pizza. As the waitress came back with our drinks, I could see she was going to spill one. During high school I lived with my parents, but now live with a close friend. Someday I will have a family of my own.

9. Consistency in tense The first thing I hear was the terrible scream of somebody's voice blending into the squeal of rubber as we come hurtling down on the Honda from behind. It's my little sister, both hands pressed to the sides of her head, while my dad tried to push the brakes through the floor. Then suddenly we're going sideways, and I see a big church come floating across the windshield. Then I knew we'll crash.

10. Shift in Person Change: Helga is my best friend. She won't let a person down. You can always count on her to be there when you need help. to: Helga is my best friend. She won't let me down. I can always count on her to be there when I need help.

11. A different point of view. At the entrance of the canyon you could see the vegetation change radically. What struck you most was the sparse, stunted growth of plants otherwise similar to those you had seen a few miles back where the river, calmer and wider, took you through a lush, open area covered with huge trees and some of the longest grasses you had ever seen.

12. Misrelated Modifier Change: Louisa saw some strange mushrooms playing in the park. to: While playing in the park, Louisa saw some strange mushrooms. Change: All afternoon I reminisced about friends I had known with my sister. to: All afternoon I reminisced with my sister about friends I had known. or: All afternoon I reminisced about friends my sister and I had known. or: All afternoon my sister and I reminisced about friends we had known.

13. Activities • a. Rounding the corner too quickly, a light post was sheared-off by the school bus. • b. By not doing my assignments, the course was flunked. • c. After considering all the evidence, the defendant was convicted by a jury of his peers. • d. I found a ripe apple on the counter, which I ate. • e. We have harder lessons for advanced students with difficult problems. • f. I saw him break the window drinking in the park.

14. Commas Change: Nadine hit a high pop-up and the pitcher caught it. to: Nadine hit a high pop-up, and the pitcher caught it. Change: When she finally swung Nadine hit a high pop-up, and the pitcher caught it. to: When she finally swung, Nadine hit a high pop-up, and the pitcher caught it. Change: Swinging fiercely Nadine hit a high pop-up, and the pitcher caught it. to: Swinging fiercely, Nadine hit a high pop-up, and the pitcher caught it.