Grammar: Subjects and Verbs
Practice #12
Level 6
In each of the following sentences, cross out prepositional phrases if necessary. Then draw one
line under the subject and two lines under the verb. To find the subject, ask who or what the
sentence is about. To find the verb ask what the subject is doing.
NOTE: The subject of a sentence never appears within a prepositional phrase. A prepositional
phrase is simply a group of words beginning with a preposition and ending with the answer to
the question what, when or where. Here is a list of common prepositions: about, above, across,
among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, by, during, except, for,
from, in, inside, into, of, off, on, onto, over, through, to, toward, under, with.
1. The fallen power line jumped and sparked on the street.
2. Jessica buys clothing impulsively, sends off for lots of mail-order items, and in general
quickly spends her money.
3. The girls paddled their canoe across the lake and visited some boys at the camp on the other
side.
4. The window fan made a clanking sound and kept them awake at night.
5. The newspaper boy shouted out the headlines and soon sold all his papers.
6. Billy licked and then greased his chapped lips with Vaseline.
7. Nina breathed deeply and then began her karate exercises.
8. At the party, Phil draped a tablecloth around his shoulders and sneered like Dracula.
9. The professional wrestler strutted around the ring and pounded on his chest.
10. A collection of watercolor paintings was damaged in the flood and is now unusable.