Grammar and Language Workbook

20. Three hours (was, were) devoted to practicing piano.
 Exercise 2
Write in the blank the verb in parentheses that agrees with the subject of each sentence.
Binoculars 
[
appear
to be the only equipment Jason forgot to bring. (appears, appear)
1. The Garden Club 
[
a seed sale to raise money. (holds, hold)
2. Geometrics 
[
popular prints for new clothes. (is, are)
3. Fifteen dollars 
[
the price of a full course meal at that restaurant. 
(remains, remain)
4. Cats 
[
a musical that often tours the country. (is, are)
5. Four years of high school 
[
a diploma. (merits, merit)
6. The population 
[
steadily each year. (grows, grow)
7. Congress 
[
new legislation during each session. (enacts, enact)
8. The Mysteries of Udolpho
[
a Gothic novel written by Ann Radcliffe. (is, are)
9. Five miles 
[
the distance indicated by the sign, but it seems as if we have
driven farther than that. (was, were)
10. Sunglasses with red frames 
[
in the sand. (lies, lie)
11. Statistics 
[
certain trends, but they can be interpreted in different ways.
(demonstrates, demonstrate)
12. A group 
[
to support the school levy. (assembles, assemble)
13. Seven dollars 
[
left on the table to cover the check. (was, were)
14. Phonetics, the sounds persons make to form words, 
[
the science of speech. (is, are)

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Lesson 49
Agreement with Compound Subjects
A sentence with a compound subject (more than one subject) may require either a
singular or a plural verb. If the compound is joined by and or both . . . and, the verb
required is usually plural. However, some compound subjects have two parts that make
up one unit. These take a singular verb. 
Singular: