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Lesson: Sentence Correction Basic - 11t01

Subjects And Verbs

[Page 11 of 27]

Errors in sentences are easier to spot if you know what you're looking for. There are eight errors that we commonly see tested on the Exam and between this and the Challenge module we'll review them all.

The first common error pertains to subject/verb agreement. Let's use the following question to demonstrate this error.

Identify the relevant subject and verb in the following question, and then click Continue.

The integrity of the judicial system frequently depends on the ability of twelve jurors to assess a large quantity of information and make well-reasoned decisions, but critics contend that a jury, composed of members who inevitably have their own prejudices and assumptions which intervene in the judicial process, frequently make judicial misjudgments.

The subject in question is the jury. The verb is make. The subject and the verb in this case are separated the clause "composed…process.".

You may recall from the grammar module that a sentence's subject and verb must both be either plural or singular. Our example does a good job of testing this rule for two reasons. First, it separates the subject and verb with a lengthy clause, which makes it difficult to 'hear' the agreement error. Second, the separating clause contains a word ("members") that we could mistake for the subject due to its proximity to the verb. In this case the correct answer choice would use the verb "makes" to correspond with the singular subject "jury".

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Video Lessons and 10 Fully Explained Grand Tests

Large number of solved practice MCQ with explanations. Video Lessons and 10 Fully explained Grand/Full Tests.

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