TOEFL Exercise Skills 14-16

Choose the letter of the word or group of words that best complete the sentence.

1.     Among bees .... a highly elaborate form of communication.

(A) occur

(B) occurs

(C) it occurs

(D) they occur

2.     .... heated by solar energy have special collectors on the roofs to trap sunlight.

(A) A home is

(B) Homes are

(C) A home

 (D) Homes

Choose the letter of the underlined word or group of words that is not correct.

3.     Each number in a binary system  are  formed from only two symbols.

                                               A                B       C                   D

4.     Scientists at the medical center is trying  to determine if there is a

                                                          A                 B                        C

relationship between saccharine and cancer.

                                                D

5.     On the rim of the Kilauea volcano in the Hawaiian Islands are a hotel

         A                                                               B                   C

called the volcano house.

6.     The great digital advances of the electronic age, such as integrated

             A

 circuitry and a microcomputer, has been planted in tiny chips.

                                  B                           C               D

7.     Kepler's laws, principles outlining planetary movement, was formulated

                                                                                            A           B

based on observations made without a telescope. 

   C                                  D

8.     There are many frequently mentioned reasons why one out of four arrests

                               A               B                                                           C

involve a juvenile.

      D

9.     Only with a two-birds vote by both houses are the U. S. Congress able to

                            A                                         B                                    C

override a Presidential veto.

                                       D

10.    Of all the evidence that has piled up since Webster's paper was published,

                                             A                                                       B

there is no new ideas to contradict his original story.

              C                        D

Review Exercise Skills 14-16

Underline the subjects once and the verbs twice in each of the following sentences. Then indicate if the sentences are correct ( C ) or incorrect ( I ).

1.     The contracts signed by the company has been voided because a number of stipulations were not met. (...)

2.     Ten miles beyond the river was the farmlands they had purchased with their life savings. (...)

3.     Only the most expensive jewels in the safe were taken by the thief. (...)

4.     Each package that is not properly wrapped have to be returned to the sender. (...)

5.     The proposal brought so much new work to the partnership that there was not enough hours to complete all of it. (...)

6.     The box of ribbons for the IBM computer have been misplaced. (...)

7.     It is disconcerting to believe that every possible candidate has been rejected for one reason or another. (...)

8.     The advice offered by the team of lawyers was that he should turn himself in. (...)

9.     Only once have there been more excitement in this city about a sporting event. (...)

10.    If nobody have bought that car from the dealer, then you should return and make another offer.(...)

Exercise 16

Each of the following sentences contains one of the words listed in skill 16 Makes Verbs Agree after Certain Words. Circle these words. Underline twice the verbs that follow. Then indicate if the sentences are correct ( C ) or incorrect ( I )

1.     It is impossible to believe that somebody actually admire that man. (...)

2.     Each of the doctors in the building needs to have a separate reception area. (...)

3.     The President felt that no one were better suited for the position of chief staff ad visor. (...)

4.     Everybody participating in the fund raiser are to turn in the tickets by 8:00. (...)

5.     Because of the low numbers of orders, nothing has to be done now. (...)

6.     Every time someone take unnecessary breaks, precious moments of production time are lost. (...)

7.     Anybody who goes to the top of the Empire State Building is impressed with the view. (...)

8.     Every man, woman, and child in this line are required to sign the forms in order to complete the registration process. (...)

9.     It is nice to believe that anything is possible if a person tries hard enough. (...)

10.    The company reiterated to reporters that nobody have been dismissed because of the incident. (...)

Skill 16 Make Verbs Agree After Certain Words

Certain words in English are always grammatically singular, even though they might have plural meanings. You should be very careful of subject verb agreement with the following words:

1.     anybody                   

2.     everybody               

3.     nobody      

4.     somebody           

5.     each

6.     anyone                    

7.     everyone

Skill 15 Make Inverted Verbs Agree

We have seen that sometimes in English the subject comes after the verb. This can occur after question words, after place expressions, and after negative expressions. When the subject and verb are inverted, it can be difficult to find them, and it can therefore be a problem to make them agree,

 

(Behind the house) was* the bicycles I wanted.

(Behind the houses) were* the bicycle I wanted.

 

In the first example it is easy to think that house is the subject, because it comes directly in front of the verb was.

Exercise 15

Each of the following sentences contains an inverted subject and verb. Circle the word or group of words that causes the subject and verb to invert. Then find the subject and verb which follow these words. Underline the subject once and the verb twice. Then indicate if the sentences are correct ( C) or incorrect ( I ) .

1.     Only once this morning were the letters delivered by the campus mail service. (...)

2.     The computer programmer was unaware that there was so many mistakes in the program he had written. (...)

3.     South of the town stands some tall trees and a pleasant picnic area. (...)

4.     Seldom in the history of television has two new comedies been so successful in one season. (...)

5.     Around the corner and to the right are the rooms that have been assigned to that program.

Exercise 14

Each of the following sentences has one or more prepositional phrases between the subject and verb. Circle the prepositional phrases. Underline the subjects one time and the verb two times. Then indicate if the sentences are correct ( C) or incorrect ( I ) .

1.     The climbers on the sheer face of the mountain need to be rescued. (...)

2.     The interrogation, conducted by three police officers have lasted for several hours. (...)

3.     All of the students in class taught by Professor Roberts is required to turn in their term papers next Monday. (...)

4.     The tenants in the apartment next to mine is giving a party this evening. (...)

5.     The President, surrounded by Secret Service Agents, is trying to make his way to the podium.

Skill 14 Make Verbs Agree After Prepositional Phrases

Sometimes prepositional phrases can come between the subject and the verb. If the object of the preposition is singular and the subject is plural, or if the object of the preposition is plural and the subject is singular, there can be confusion in making the subject and verb agree.

 

The key (to the doors) are * in the drawer.

The keys (to the door) is * in the drawer.

 

(Remember, in this website an asterisk (*) shows an incorrect word.

Problems With Subject Verb Agreement

Subject verb agreement is simple: if the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb must be singular, and if the subject of the sentence is plural then the verb of the sentence must be plural. An s on a verb usually indicates that a verb is singular, while as s on a noun usually indicates that the noun is plural. (Do not forget irregular plural of nouns, such as women, children, and people.)