ENG III/IV
Final Exam Study Guide
Part II – grammar
1. Identify and describe the four types of sentences:
1. declarative - States a fact, a wish, an intent, or a feeling
2. interrogative - Asks a question
3. imperative – gives a command or direction
4. exclamatory – expresses strong feeling or excitement
I. Complements, Direct & Indirect Objects
Subject complements describe or identify subjects.
Predicate nominatives are subject complements that identify the subject. Predicate nominatives
are usually found after forms of the verb be, but they can also follow certain other linking
verbs, such as remain and become.
Kiri Te Kanawa is a Maori.
She has become a diva.
Predicate adjectives are another kind of subject complement. Predicate adjectives describe
the subject and can follow any linking verb.
Julie’s boss appeared angry.
She also looked tired and overworked.
A. Identifying Predicate Nominatives and Predicate Adjectives
Underline the subject complements in the following conversation and indicate whether each is
a predicate nominative (PN) or a predicate adjective (PA).
1. Cynthia: Paree, you’re Chinese, aren’t you?
2. Paree: No, I’m Cambodian. I do look Chinese though because my grandfather was from
Shanghai. He was an acupuncturist.
3. Cynthia: Really? That’s interesting, but to tell you the truth, acupuncture scares me.
4. Paree: That’s because you are an American. For many Asians, acupuncture is a respected
medical art. It isn’t frightening at all.
5. Cynthia: It still seems scary to me, but maybe I’m wrong.
B. Using Predicate Nominatives and Predicate Adjectives
Write five sentences about a place that you have visited within the last year. Include the
indicated types of subject complements in your sentences. You may want to use some of the
following linking verbs in your sentences:
appear feel grow seem be sound
become remain look smell taste stay
1. (predicate nominative) NYC seemed to be a good place
2. (predicate nominative) My traveling companion was a doctor.
3. (predicate adjective) The people appeared friendly.
4. (predicate adjective) The subway smelled bad.
5. (predicate adjective) Central Park looked pretty in the sunshine.
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Directions: Identify only the subject, the direct object, and the indirect object in each sentence.
Example: Our teacher gave us some work to do.
subject: _____teacher________ / direct object: ___work_______ / indirect object:
______us_______
1. We sent a package to our relatives in Iowa.
subject: ___we____ / direct object: _____a package___________ / indirect object: _____our
relatives_______
2. He told his parents a lie.
subject: ____he_____ / direct object: ______lie______ / indirect object: _his parents_____
3. Please hand me the remote control for the TV.
subject: ___(You)_____ / direct object: ___remote control____ / indirect object:
___me________
4. Tina is making dinner for us.
subject: ___Tina______ / direct object: ______dinner_____ / indirect object: _____us_____
5. Our boss is buying us dinner.
subject: ____boss_______ / direct object: _____dinner_________ / indirect object:
___us________
II. Agreement Problems
Agreement in Number
Review: Subjects and verbs must agree (be the same) in number. Use a singular verb with a
singular subject and a plural verb with a plural subject. In a verb phrase, the first helping verb—
often a form of be, have, or do—agrees with the subject. Pay special attention to subject-verb
agreement when the verb involves a contraction, such as doesn’t or don’t.
Directions: Rewrite the sentences in the space provided to correct errors in subject-verb
agreement. If a sentence is correct as it stands, write C.
1. In the film industry, a stunt person’s essential equipment includes a calculator, some
paper, and a pencil.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Some people is are unaware that good stunt persons has also used dummies.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. A stunt dummy have has the same weight and height as the stunt person.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Before the person performs a stunt, the dummy does it.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Perhaps a character in a film plans to jump from a helicopter.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Verb Agreement with Compound Subjects
Review: If parts of a compound subject are joined by and, the subject usually takes a plural verb.
When parts of a compound subject are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part
closest to it.
Directions: Rewrite the sentences in the space provided to correct errors in subject-verb
agreement. If a sentence is correct as it stands, write C.
1. Popular music and acting is are fields in which few people manage to succeed.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. Almost every ambitious young man or woman have has to admit defeat.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Neither the odds against success nor the hard struggle were enough to keep Ruben Blades
from success in both fields, though. C
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. Millions of fans and Latin music enthusiasts regard Blades as a leader in salsa music. C
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Songwriting and performing remains important aspects of Blades’s life.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Review Use a singular verb with a singular indefinite pronoun subject, such as each, everyone,
and something. Use a plural verb with a plural indefinite pronoun subject, such as both, few,
many, and several. Some indefinite pronouns, including all, any, most, none, and some, can be
either singular or plural. If the pronoun refers to a singular noun, use a singular verb. If the
pronoun refers to a plural noun, use a plural verb.
Directions: In the space provided, rewrite the following passage to correct errors in
subject-verb agreement.
Many thinks that it is impossible to turn an animated film into a stage play effectively. Yet no
one who have has seen The Lion King on Broadway would doubt that it can be done. Most of the
credit for this stunning achievement belongs to Julie Taymor. There’s little question that few
possesses the talent and vision that Taymor brought to the show. All of the animal characters
from the film come to life, thanks to talented actors and to Taymor’s costume designs.
Everybody connected with the production have has praised her innovative direction as well. Both
of these achievements earned her the Tony Awards that she received. Although none of
Taymor’s prior work have has won her the acclaim given The Lion King, most of those in the
theater world has have been aware of her brilliance for many years. In all likelihood, all of her
future work are is going to receive much attention.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Verb Agreement with Collective Nouns and Other Tricky Subjects
Review: Use a singular verb with a collective noun subject that refers to people or things as a
group. Use a plural verb with a collective noun subject referring to people or things as
individuals. Use a singular verb with nouns ending in -s or -cs, such as measles and mathematics.
Titles of literary and artistic works are singular. Words and phrases expressing weights,
measures, numbers, and lengths of time are often singular. Phrases or clauses used as subjects
take singular verbs.
A. Directions: Rewrite the sentences in the space provided to correct errors in subject-verb
agreement. If a sentence is correct as it stands, write C.
1. With the emergence of Jakob Dylan in the music world, the Dylan family are is able to
claim two stars in two generations.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. What is amazing is that Jakob’s father, Bob Dylan, has been a major figure in popular
music for more than four decades. C
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Nineteen years were was the age at which Bob Dylan moved to New York to start his musical
career.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4. A host of would-be stars invade New York every year, but few have had such an
immediate impact as Bob Dylan. C
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
5. Writing one’s own songs seems commonplace now, but Dylan started that trend.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
III. Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Review: An antecedent is the word—a noun or another pronoun—that a pronoun replaces or
refers to. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number, gender, and person.
A. Directions: A pronoun and its antecedent must be either singular or plural in number. Write
the pronoun that belongs in each sentence. Use one of these pronouns: it, its, she, her, he, their,
or they.
1. Florence Nightingale, who founded the profession of nursing, was named after ___her____
birthplace, the city of Florence in Italy.
2. Born in 1820 to well-to-do British parents, she was educated largely by her father, who taught
___her____ a number of different languages, as well as history and mathematics.
3. When Florence was still a teenager, she became convinced she had a foreordained mission, but
she did not discover _____its______ true nature until she was twenty-six years old.
4. In 1846, one of her friends sent her a book on nursing produced by a training school in
Germany, and Florence read ______it_____ with great interest.
B. Directions: A pronoun and its antecedent must both be either masculine (he, his), feminine
(she, her), or neutral (it, its) in gender. If the antecedent could be either male or female, you must
use his or her or she or he. In each sentence below, circle the letter of the correct answer to fill
each blank.
5. Florence traveled to Germany, where ______ took the full training course.
a. he b. she c. her d. she or he
6. After completing the course, Florence served for a year as a health superintendent in London,
where ______ new initiatives were highly successful.
a. her b. she c. it d. their
7. Her calling achieved ______ fulfillment, however, only with the outbreak of the Crimean War
in 1854.
a. him b. her c. its d. them
C. Directions: A pronoun and its antecedent must also agree in person: first person (I, we),
second person (you), or third person (he, she, it, they). In each sentence below, cross off any
incorrect pronoun and write the correct pronoun in the blank.
9. Florence’s courage and administrative ability helped her to succeed, and I she became
known as “the lady with the lamp.”
10. By 1856, she had become a national hero in England; almost everyone, whatever their his or
her station in life, knew about her achievements.
11. In 1860, she established the first school of its kind for nurses in the world. You She studied
at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London.
12. Historians have never fully explained, however, why they she lived mostly as an invalid from
1857 until her death in 1910.
Antecedent Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Review An antecedent is the word—a noun or another pronoun—that a pronoun replaces or
refers to. A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number, gender, and person. When the
antecedent is an indefinite pronoun, which does not refer to a specific person, place, thing, or
idea, follow these rules:
• Use a singular personal pronoun with a singular antecedent; use a plural personal pronoun with
a plural antecedent.
• In certain cases, look at the phrase or words following the indefinite pronoun to tell you
whether it is singular or plural.
A. Directions: Rewrite each sentence to correct any errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement. If
the sentence is correct as is, write C.
1. Has anyone ever read about prehistoric cave paintings in their trips to the library?
2. None of the viewers of the paintings will forget the powerful impression that the pictures
made on him them.
3. Many have written about his their impressions of prehistoric paintings of horses, deer, bears,
and bison.
4. Some of the animals are shown making its their way across the cave walls in large herds.
5. Several are so skillfully painted that they look as if they could stampede right off the
cave walls! C
B. Directions: Rewrite the paragraph to correct any errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement. If a
sentence is correct as is, write C. (HINT: There are four errors.)
(6.) All of the prehistoric artists who left their drawings on the cave walls are unknown. (7.)
Nobody was able to sign their his or her name to the paintings because written language had not
yet been developed. (8.) Many of the artists did trace his or her their hands, however. (9.) In this
way, each who did so left their his or her impression.
(10.) Moreover, all of them made his or her their mark through the beauty and power of paintings
that have survived for more than 30,000 years.