CBSE Class 7 English Locating the Subject Worksheet

Sometimes a prepositional phrase comes between the subject and the verb. The verb must agree with the subject of the sentence and not with the object of the preposition.

The rooms near the entrance have new windows.

The air in the mountains contains little oxygen.

In the first sentence, near the entrance is a prepositional phrase. The subject of the sentence is rooms, which is plural; therefore, the verb that agrees with it, have, is also plural. In the second sentence, in the mountains is a prepositional phrase. The singular verb contains agrees with air, which is a singular subject.

You can check for subject-verb agreement by removing the prepositional phrase.

The rooms have new windows.                 The air contains little oxygen.

Some sentences begin with there or here. These words are never the subject of a sentence. Look for the subject after the verb.

There are many palm trees in Florida.      Here in the city is a large building.

To make finding the subject easier, rearrange these sentences by placing the subject before the verb in the usual manner.

Many palm trees are there in Florida.        A large building is here in the city.

Exercise 1 Draw one line under the subject. Draw two lines under the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject.

Each of the girls (has, have) her own locker.

1. The monkeys in the zoo (climbs, climb) trees all day long.

2. Students from all over the country (attends, attend) day camp every spring.

3. Cookies fresh from the oven (tastes, taste) delicious.

4. Drivers from the freight company (travels, travel) across the country.

5. A truckload of band uniforms (arrives, arrive) Saturday.

6. Millions of persons (listens, listen) to radio every day.

7. A sergeant from the police department (teaches, teach) bicycle safety at our school.

8. Roots from the mesquite tree (extends, extend) far below the ground.

9. A ticket for front-row seats (costs, cost) too much.

10. The restaurant with the chairs and tables in front of it (serves, serve) authentic Hawaiian food.

11. Suitcases with an extra pouch (holds, hold) extra clothes.

12. The fireworks at the city park (begins, begin) at 9:30 P.M.

13. Patterns from the Smith Clothing Catalog (requires, require) careful cutting.

14. Teams in the City League (scores, score) more touchdowns than any other teams in the county.

15. Here (is, are) the book that belongs to Kim.

16. The president of the United States (lives, live) in the White House.

17. Hamburgers at this restaurant (comes, come) with tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese.

18. Trees near the top of the mountain (needs, need) more water.

19. The glue on postage stamps (contains, contain) flavoring to make it taste better.

20. The photographer from the school paper (wants, want) us to smile for the class picture.

21. All of the visitors to the museum (receives, receive) a souvenir.

22. The school year in this district (lasts, last) nine months and two weeks.

23. The lockers in this building (stands, stand) more than six feet high.

24. The core of Earth (contains, contain) molten iron.

25. There (is, are) reptile eggs in that leathery covering.

26. Each of the birds in the wetlands (wears, wear) an identification tag.

27. The leader of the circus clowns (works, work) in a bank during the week.

28. The organist in Rhonda’s church also (plays, play) at the baseball stadium.

29. The cider from Washington apples (has, have) a pleasant aroma.

30. Class pictures from the 1980s (hangs, hang) in the halls.

31. Light from the sun (reaches, reach) Earth in eight minutes.

32. The sound of the crickets (interrupts, interrupt) the quiet night.