create a subject -verb agreement when a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and verb
Subject-verb agreement can become trickier when a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and the verb. Here are a few examples to demonstrate how to maintain proper subject-verb agreement in such cases:
1. The group of students is going on a field trip.
2. An army of ants is marching across the kitchen floor.
3. The man with the umbrella is waiting for the bus.
4. A bouquet of colorful flowers looks beautiful on the table.
5. The committee for animal rights is organizing a fundraising event.
In each of these sentences, the subject agrees with the verb despite the presence of a prepositional phrase between them. Remember that the verb should always match the subject in number, regardless of any interrupting phrases.
When a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and verb in a sentence, the subject-verb agreement remains unchanged. The verb should still agree with the subject, regardless of the prepositional phrase.
Here's an example:
Incorrect: The group of students were going to the museum.
Correct: The group of students was going to the museum.
In the incorrect example, the verb "were" does not agree with the singular subject "group." To correct this, the verb "was" is used to match the singular subject.
Remember that prepositional phrases do not affect the subject-verb agreement in a sentence. The verb should always agree with the subject, no matter where the prepositional phrase appears.
Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical rule that states that the verb must agree in number with its subject. This means that a singular subject should be paired with a singular verb, while a plural subject should be paired with a plural verb. However, when a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and verb, it can sometimes cause confusion.
To create subject-verb agreement when a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and the verb, follow these steps:
1. Identify the subject of the sentence. The subject is the noun or pronoun that the sentence is about. For example, in the sentence "The cat on the table is sleeping," the subject is "the cat."
2. Identify the verb of the sentence. The verb is the action or state of being performed by the subject. In the example sentence, the verb is "is sleeping."
3. Determine whether the subject is singular or plural. This will help you determine the correct verb form. In our example sentence, the subject "the cat" is singular.
4. Check if there is a prepositional phrase that interrupts the subject and verb. A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition (such as "on," "in," "under," etc.) and a noun or pronoun. In our example sentence, the prepositional phrase is "on the table."
5. Ignore the prepositional phrase temporarily and focus on the subject and verb. In our example sentence, we ignore the prepositional phrase "on the table" and look at "the cat is sleeping."
6. Use the correct verb form that agrees with the subject. Since our subject "the cat" is singular, we use the singular verb form "is sleeping."
7. Reintegrate the prepositional phrase into the sentence. Our final sentence will be "The cat on the table is sleeping."
By following these steps, you can maintain subject-verb agreement even when a prepositional phrase interrupts the subject and verb.