Lesson
7.4
Compound Subjects
Name: _________________________
Hour: _________
A compound subject consists of two or more parts joined by a conjunction, such as and, or, nor, etc.
A compound subject whose parts are joined by and usually requires a plural verb.
That book and the magazine are both about fashion.
When the parts of a compound subject are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part
closest to it.
Either the color photo or the black-and-white drawings show jewelry you’d like.
Neither the drawings nor the photo shows anything cheap.
A. Making Verbs Agree with Compound Subjects
Underline each part of the compound subject. Draw two lines beneath the conjunction that joins the
parts. Circle the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject.
1. Fashion and design (has, have) always interested humans.
2. Ornaments and other artifacts from very early civilizations (indicates, indicate) concern for
personal beauty.
3. Neither foreign cultures nor our own society (has, have) a monopoly on fashion.
4. Hairstyles and clothing (tells, tell) others something about ourselves.
5. Some teens and adults (is, are) very experimental with fashions.
6. Magazines or television often (dictates, dictate) the current fashions and hairstyles.
7. Body types or size (does, do) influence our choices of styles to wear.
8. Colors and fabrics also (influences, influence) our choices in fashion.
9. Neither men nor women (underestimates, underestimate) the value of fashion.
10. Some men and women (spends, spend) a great deal to keep up with fashion.
B. Correcting Errors in Agreement
Underline each part of the compound subject (noun only) once. Underline the verb twice. If the verb
in a sentence does not agree with its compound subject, write the correct present tense form of the verb
on the line. If the verb does agree, write Correct.
1. ___________________ The Singapore airport or other Asian terminals witnesses a wide
variety of costumes daily.
2. ___________________ The women and men passing through wear every imaginable kind of
garb.
3. ___________________ On any given day, a short man wearing a long beard and fur fez and
tall, lanky girls in black leather miniskirts walks side by side.
4. ___________________ Either women draped from head to toe in dark veils or a little girl in
cornrows tied with bright ribbons boards the moving sidewalk.
5. ___________________ Often either a long trench-coat or bulky sweaters hangs over the arms
of people arriving from Northern countries.
6. ___________________ Neither area folks nor any other person from a torrid zone is without
bright floral parasols that help thwart the intense tropical sunlight.
C. Using Correct Verb with Compound Subject
Underline both parts of the compound subject (noun only). Write the correct form of the given verb.
Make it agree with the compound subject.
1. _____________________ Face paint and body colors of various types (be) found in various
cultures.
2. _____________________ Face paint or body colors (have) been used to identify a specific tribe
and their members.
3. _____________________ Natural vegetable dyes or finely-ground rock (provide) the colors.
4. _____________________ Good makeup and effective lighting (help) transport the audience into
the playwright’s world.
5. _____________________ A mime or clown (use) face paint to create new characters.
6. _____________________ Face paint or unusual costumes (be) used by members of some rock
groups.
7. _____________________ Either formal clothes or casual wear (qualify) as appropriate for travel
these days.
8. _____________________ High-rise hairdos and the windblown look (be) equally visible in
travelers.
9. _____________________ Neither the mature person nor young people (dress) as formally as
everyone once did in public places.
10. _____________________ Occasionally either a single native of some country with distinctive
dress or convention-goers in crisp business suits (stand) out on a plane.
11. _____________________ The person with pink hair and the twins dressed identically (catch) the
eye of fellow travelers.
12. _____________________ Despite the freedom in dress today, neither satin bustles nor the high,
fluted ruff of earlier eras (be) seen anywhere.
D. Correcting Errors in Agreement
Find the mistakes in the paragraph. For each sentence, write the correct present tense verb to agree
with the subject on the corresponding line. If the verb is correct and does agree, write Correct.
(1) Costumes, makeup, and lighting creates new worlds on stage or in films. (2) Both children
and adults are transported to new places. (3) Either a play or a film remove the audience from a
workaday world. (4) Together, the actors and the staff takes the audience to a different and sometimes
fantastic world. (5) Neither costumes nor lighting are able to do more than the human mind can
imagine on its own.
1. ______________________
2. ______________________
3. ______________________
4. ______________________
5. ______________________
6. ______________________