Subject-Verb Agreement
Choose the correct verb: The team (run/runs) onto the field.
Runs – “Team” is a collective noun treated as singular.
What’s the antecedent of the pronoun in this sentence? Samantha lost her keys.
Antecedent = Samantha; pronoun = her
Identify the voice: The cookies were eaten by my brother.
Passive voice – subject (cookies) receives the action.
Is this a phrase or a clause? When the bell rang
Clause – it has a subject (the bell) and a verb (rang).
Is this a run-on or a fragment? The dog barked all night it kept me up. Fix it.
Run-on. Corrected: The dog barked all night, and it kept me up.
Fix the error: The students in the back of the room talks loudly.
Corrected: The students in the back of the room talk loudly. (“Students” is plural; verb must match.)
Correct the error: Each of the students turned in their paper.
Corrected: Each of the students turned in his or her paper. (“Each” is singular.)
Turn this passive sentence into active: The essay was written by Maria.
Active version: Maria wrote the essay.
What is the misplaced modifier in this sentence? Walking down the street, the tree caught my eye.
Misplaced modifier: Walking down the street, the tree caught my eye. Fix: Walking down the street, I saw the tree.
Add correct punctuation: My sister who lives in Texas is visiting next week
Corrected: My sister, who lives in Texas, is visiting next week. (Nonessential clause set off by commas)
Is this sentence correct? Why or why not? Neither of the boys were ready for class.
Incorrect – “Neither” is singular, so it should be: Neither of the boys was ready for class.
Fill in the blank: Neither Mark nor Jason brought ___ homework.
Correct: his – “Neither” is singular.
Identify the voice and explain: The students presented their projects to the class.
Active voice – subject (students) performs the action.
Identify the modifier and the word it modifies: The brightly colored bird sang loudly.
Modifier = brightly colored; it modifies bird.
Add a semicolon where needed: I wanted to go swimming it was too cold.
Corrected: I wanted to go swimming; it was too cold. (Semicolon joins related independent clauses)
Rewrite this sentence correctly: The list of items are on the table.
Corrected: The list of items is on the table. “List” is the singular subject.
Choose the correct version: All of the cats lost (its / their) collars. Explain why.
Correct: their – “Cats” is plural; pronoun must match.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Write your own passive sentence and then convert it to active voice.
800 points
Example Passive: The award was given to James by the principal. Active: The principal gave the award to James.
Double Jeopardy:
Create your own sentence with a dependent clause and a modifier.
800 points.
Example: Because it was raining, the tired players ran to the locker room.
Fix the punctuation and possessive errors: Its time for the girls party to begin
Corrected: It’s time for the girls’ party to begin. (It’s = it is; girls’ = plural possessive)
Create your own sentence with a compound subject that agrees with its verb.
Example: My brother and sister enjoy playing soccer. (Compound subject = plural verb)
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Write a sentence with a collective noun and a correct matching pronoun.
1000 points
Example: The team celebrated its victory. (“Team” is singular collective noun; “its” is correct.)
Explain why passive voice might be useful in writing. Give an example.
Passive voice can shift focus away from the subject or emphasize the action/receiver. Ex: The mistake was made.
Break this sentence into one independent clause and one phrase: After the movie, we went to dinner.
Independent clause: We went to dinner. Phrase: After the movie (no subject-verb pair).
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Write a sentence with a comma, semicolon, and apostrophe—used correctly.
1000 points
Example: After dinner, we went to Sam’s house; it was a fun night. (Comma, apostrophe, semicolon all used)