Exercise 1: Subject, Verb, Complement, and Modifier

Identify the subject, verb, complement, and modifier in each of the following sentences. Remember that not every sentence has a complement or modifier. Examples:

Jill / is buying / a new hat / in the store.

subject verb phrase complement modifier of place

Betty / is shopping / downtown.

subject verb phrase modifier of place

1. George/ is cooking/ dinner /tonight.

S v c m

2. Henry and Marcia/ have visited /the president.

S v c

3. We/ can eat /lunch /in this restaurant /today.

S v c m. of place m. of time

4. Pat /should have bought/ gasoline /yesterday.

S v c m. of time

5. Trees /grow.

S v

6. It/was raining/at seven-o'clock/this morning.

S v m. of time m. of time

7. She/opened/a checking account/at the bank/last week.

S v c m. of place m. of time

8. Harry /is washing /dishes/ right now.

S v c m. of time

9. She /opened /her book.

S v c

10. Paul, William, and Mary/were watching/television/a few minutes ago.

S v c m. of time

Exercise 2: Count and Non-Count Nouns

Identify the following nouns as count nouns or non-count nouns according to their usual meaning

television non-count

atmosphere non-count

food non-count

cup count

car count

person count

tooth count

money non-count

news non-count

water non-count

soap non-count

hydrogen non-count

geography non-count

soup non-count

pencil count

minute count

Exercise 3: Determiners

Choose the correct determiners in the following sentences.

1. He doesn't have much money.

2. I would like a little salt on my vegetables.

3. She bought those cards last night.

4. There are fewer students in this room than in the next room.

5. There is too much bad news on television tonight.

6. I do not want this water.

7. This is too much information to learn.

8. A few people left early.

9. Would you like less coffee than this?

10. This jacket costs too much.

Exercise 4: Articles

in the following sentences supply the articles (a. an. or the) if they are necessary. If no article is necessary, leave the space blank.

1. Jason's father bought him the bicycle that he had wanted for his birthday.

2. The Statue of Liberty was a gift of friendship from France to The United States.

3. Rita is studying English and math this semester.

4. The judge asked the witness to tell the truth.

5. Please give me a cup of coffee with cream and sugar.

6. The big books on the table are for my history class.

7. No one in the Spanish class knew the correct answer to Mrs. Perez's question.

8. My car is four years old and it still runs well.

9. When you go tothe store, please buy bottle of chocolate milk and a dozen oranges.

10. There are only a few seats left for the tonight's musical at the university.

11. John and Marcy went to school yesterday and then studied in the library before returning home.

12. Lake Erie is one of the five Great Lakes in North America.

13. On our trip to Spain, we crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

14. Mount Rushmoro is the site of magnificent tribute to the four great American presidents.

15. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?

16. Louie played basketball and baseball at the Boys' Club this year.

17. Rita play the violin and her sister plays the guitar.

18. While we were in Alaska, we saw an Eskimo village.

19. Phil can't go to the movies tonight because he has to write an essay.

20. David attended the Princeton University.

21. Harry has been admitted to the School of Medicine at the midwestern university.

22. Mel's grandmother is in hospital, so we went to visit her last night.

23. The political science class is taking a trip to The Soviet Union in spring.

24. Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of Great Britain.

25. The Declaration of Independence was drawn up in 1776.

26. Scientists hoped to send an expedition to Mars during the 1980s.

27. Last night there was a bird singing outside my house.

28. The chair that you are sitting in is broken.

29. The Civil War was fought in The United States between 1861 and 1865.

30. The Florida State University is smaller than the University of Florida.