Download (1) Finding the prepositional phrases, (2) avoiding one type of

(1) Finding the prepositional phrases,
(2) avoiding one type of subject-verb agreement error,
and (3) conquering a major subject-verb problem
(1) The 17 prepositional phrases are underlined in the sentences below (from page 48):
1. Please place the letters in the file.
2. On the bed, among the tumbled blankets and sheets lay the baby.
3. If she leaves the house, will you take the roast from the oven?
4. Impetuously he threw the stone across the river.
5. At the last minute, we lost the ball among the bushes.
6. Charles vaulted over a high fence and ducked under a wire clothesline.
7. Almost like a toy, the tiny boat sailed on and on across the sea.
8. The bonds were hidden under the rug; the cash was pushed in back of the book.
9. She ran around the block hoping to avoid the man who was with her brother.
10. They stood in front of the store hoping to get out of the rain.
(2) In the following sentence, the word “one” governs the form of the verb “tells,” rather
than the closer word “markings”:
“Each group of papers has one of a set of markings that tells what classification system has been
used.”
Two prepositional phrases, “of a set” and “of markings,” intervene between “one” and “tells,”
throwing off some speakers and writers, causing them mistakenly to say or write “markings that
tell.”
(3) If item 2, above, seems difficult, the reason may be a lack of familiarity with the
information found in the third persona part of the graph on lpage 16 of this collection.
Native speakers of English associate “s” endings with plurals of nouns – trees, e-mails,
keyboards, rock formations. This association breaks down if the “s / plural connection is carried
over to verbs where, in the present tense, the reverse, the “s / singular” connection, comes into
play. Look at the example sentences on page 16:
He (singular subject) sings (verb with “s” ending) when he’s in the mood.
She (singular subject) eats (verb with “s” ending) in the corner café.
For third person plural, again, the “s / plural connection is not true:
They (plural subject) sing (verb without “s” ending) well if they are in the mood.
They (plural subject) eat (verb without “s” ending) in the corner café.
A simple solution is available: if you have difficulty internalizing this notion, substitute the word
“it” for any singular subject and substitute the word “they” for any plural subject. If you do this,
you won’t make a mistake.
A NATIVE SPEAKER OF ENGLISH IS NOT GOING TO SAY OR WRITE THE
FOLLOWING:
IT (singular) SING if you feed it enough birdseed.
THEY (plural) SINGS if you feed them enough birdseed.
The CMSU Writing Center
Central Missouri State University, Humphreys 166
Prepositions, page 48A