Skill
Be Sure The Sentence Has A Subject And A Verb
test skill description
You know that a sentence in English should have a subject and a verb. The most common types of problems that you will encounter in structure questions on the TOEFL test have to do with subjects and verbs: perhaps the sentence is missing either the subject or the verb or both, or perhaps the sentence has an extra subject or verb.
Example 1 from the Paper and Computer TOEFL® Tests
____ was backed up for miles on the freeway.
(A) Yesterday
(B) In the morning
(C) Traffic
(D) Cars
In this example you should notice immediately that there is a verb was, but there is no subject. Answer (C) is the best answer because it contains the singular subject traffic that agrees with the singular verb was. Answer (A), yesterday, and answer (B), in the morning, are not subjects, so they are not correct. Although answer (D), cars, could be a subject, it is not correct because cars is plural and it does not agree with the singular verb was.
Example 2 from the Paper and Computer TOEFL® Tests
Engineers ____ for work on the new space program.
(A) necessary
(B) are needed
(C) hopefully
(D) next month
In this example you should notice immediately that the sentence has a subject engineers and that there is no verb. Because answer (B), are needed, is a verb, it is the best answer. Answers (A), (C), and (D) are not verbs, so they are not correct.
Example 3 from the Paper and Computer TOEFL® Tests
The boy ____ going to the movies with a friend.
(A) he is
(B) he always was
(C) is relaxing
(D) will be
This sentence has a subject boy and has part of a verb going; to be correct, some form of the verb be is needed to make the sentence complete. Answers (A) and (B) are incorrect because the sentence already has a subject boy and does not need the extra subject he. Answer (C) is incorrect because relaxing is an extra verb part that is unnecessary because of going. Answer (D) is the best answer; will be together with going is a complete verb.
The following chart outlines what you should remember about subjects and verbs:
| SUBJECTS AND VERBS |
| A sentence in English must have at least one subject and one verb. |
SUBJECTS AND VERBS
A sentence in English must have at least one subject and one verb.
Exercise
Complete the following exercises to reinforce what you’ve learned:
EXERCISE 1: Underline the subjects once and the verbs twice in each of the following sentences. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).
- _I__ Last week went fishing for trout at the nearby mountain lake.
- _C__ A schedule of the day's events can be obtained at the front desk.
- ____ A job on the day shift or the night shift at the plant available.
- ____ The new computer program has provides a variety of helpful applications.
- ____ The box can be opened only with a special screwdriver.
- ____ The assigned text for history class it contains more than twenty chapters.
- ____ The papers in the wastebasket should be emptied into the trash can outside.
- ____ Departure before dawn on a boat in the middle of the harbor.
- ____ Yesterday found an interesting article on pollution.
- ____ The new machine is processes 50 percent more than the previous machine.
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