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Chapter 1. Subject and Verbs KEYTERMSAuxiliary verbs: verbs that work with the main verb to make up the complete verb in a sentence; also called helping verbs. Example: The woman doesn’t like working. (Auxiliary verb: does)Linking verbs: verbs that help describe a subject by connecting it to another word. Example: The man is handsome. (Linking verb: is)Preposition: one of a group of words that precede a noun or pronoun and indicate direction, position, placement, duration, or another kind of connection to the other words in the sentence. Examples: about, above, through, under, with.Subject: who or what a sentence speaks about; usually a noun or pronoun that acts, is acted upon, or is described. Example: The boy cries. (Subject: boy)Verb: what the sentence says about the subject; a word that shows what a subject does or that helps describe the subject by linking it to an adjective. Example: The boy cries. (Verb: cries)The basic building blocks of English sentences are subjects and verbs. Understanding them is an important first step toward mastering a number of sentence skills.Every sentence has a subject and a verb. Who or what the sentence speaks about is called the subject; what the sentences says about the subject is called the verb. In the following sentences, the subject is underlined once and the verb twice. The boy cried. That fish smells. Many people applied for the job. The show is a documentary. ACTIVITYIn each of the following sentences, draw one line under the subject and two lines under the verb.The ripening tomatoes glistened on the sunny windowsill.Acupuncture reduces the pain of my headaches.Elena twisted a strand of hair around her fingers.My brother built his bookshelves from cinder blocks and wood planks.A jackrabbit bounds up to fifteen feet in one leap.The singer's diamond earrings sparkled in the spotlight.My roommate crashed his car on the icy highway.On St. Patrick's Day, our neighborhood tavern serves green beer.My six-year-old brother survives on a diet of peanut butter and jelly.During my parent's divorce, I felt like a rag doll being torn between two people.More About Subjects and VerbsA sentence may have more than one verb, more than one subject, or several subjects and verbs.The engine coughed and sputtered.Broken glass and empty cans littered the parking lot.Marta, Nilsa, and Robert met after class and headed downtown.The subject of the sentence never appears within a prepositional phrase. A prepositional phrase is simply a group of words that begins with a preposition. Following is a list of common prepositions.Prepositionsaboutbeforebyinsideoverabovebehindduringintothroughacrossbelowexceptliketoamongbeneathforoftowardaroundbesidefromoffunderatbetweeninon, ontowithCrossing out prepositional phrases will help you find the subject or subjects of a sentence.A stream of cold air seeps in through the space below the door.Specks of dust dance gently in a ray of sunlight.The people in the apartment above ours fight loudly.The murky waters of the polluted lake spilled over the dam.The amber lights on its sides outlined the tractor-trailer in the hazy dusk.Many verbs consist of more than one word. (The extra verbs are called auxiliary, or helping, verbs.) Here, for example, are some of the many forms of the verb work.Forms of workworkworkedshould workworkswere workingwill be workingdoes workhave workedcan workis workhad workedcould be workingare workinghad been workingmust have workedWords like not, just, never, only, and always are not part of the verb, although they may appear within the verb.Ruby has never liked cold weather.Our boss will not be singing with the choir this year.The intersection has not always been this dangerous.A verb preceded by to is never the verb of a sentence.At night, my son likes to read under the covers.Evelyn decided to separate from her husband.An -ing word by itself is never the verb of a sentence. (It may be part of the verb, but it must have a helping verb in front of it.)They going on a trip this weekend. (not a sentence, because the verb is not complete)They are going on a trip this weekend.ACTIVITYDraw a single line under subjects and a double line under verbs. Cross out prepositional phrases as necessary to find the subjects.A thick layer of dust covers the top of our refrigerator.In June, sagging Christmas decorations were still hanging in the windows of the abandoned house.The people in the all-night coffee shop seemed weary and lost.Every plant in the dim room bent toward the small window.A glaring headline about the conviction of a local congressman attracted my attention.Two of the biggest stores in the mall are going out of business.The battery tester's tiny red lights suddenly started to flicker.A neighbor of mine does all her work at home and e-mails it to her office.The jar of peppercorns tumbled from the spice shelf and shattered on the floor.The scar in the hollow of Brian's throat is the result of an emergency operation to clear his windpipe.Review TestDraw a single line under subjects and a double line under verbs. Cross out prepositional phrases as necessary to find the subjects.With one graceful motion, the shortstop fielded the grounder and threw to first base.Like human mothers, sheep and goat mothers develop close bonds with their babies.Before class, Antonietta and Jorge rushed to the coffee machine in the hall.I shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy mattress before falling into a restless sleep.Waiting in the long ticket line, Matt shifted his weight from one foot to the other.Ancient Egyptians were branding cattle more than four thousand years ago.Dogs and cats crowded the veterinarian's office on Monday morning.The driver abruptly halted her Jeep and backed up toward a narrow parking place.During the American Revolution, some brides rejected white wedding gowns and wore red as a symbol of rebellion.The little girl's frantic family called a psychic to locate the child. ................
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