Editing for Subject-Verb Agreement When a Phrase Follows the Subject
PART II: When any grammatical phrase occurs between the subject and verb, writers often incorrectly make the verb agree with the object of the phrase. An object can never be the subject of a verb.
Examples:
• Rural womenin sub-Saharan Africaproduce 325 metric tons of food annually.
• Food farmingin Africa today is done mainly by African women working with very rudimentary tools.
• The Foreign Minister of China, in addition to the Chinese President, has visited several African countries to forge greater economic ties and to invest in Africa's developing industries.
[Ignore phrases beginning with in addition to, along with, together with, and as well as. They do not affect subject-verb agreement.]
In this exercise, find the subject and click on it. Pass over the phrase following the subject, and select the verb that agrees with the subject. Don't forget to click the head noun of the subject phrase, the noun with which the verb must agree. Hit enter or the tab key. The correct answer will be green text.
1. Improved varietiesvarieties of rice in Vietnam.
2. Irrigated conditionsconditions in the northern and central regions commercial rice production very successful.
3.Banh Chung Banh Chung --a kind of glutinous rice cake-- by the Vietnamese during the Lunar New Year (Tet).
4.In China, aromatic, glutinous and other special typestypes of rice widely.
5. The processingprocessing of rice into other products income for millions of Chinese families.
6. A rich collectioncollection of rice dishes throughout the many regions of China.
7. Many variationsvariations of fried rice ; the type and amounttype and amount of added ingredients each variation unique.
8. The beautiful Banawe rice terracesrice terraces in the Philippines a world cultural heritage site.
9. Wet-season rice cultivationrice cultivation in the north from June to November.
10. High-yielding varietiesvarieties of Indica rice in the Philippines, but the more traditional varietyvariety--Milagrosa-- popular in many regions.
