Written Practice 3-6
In each of the following sentences, place parentheses around the prepositional
phrase. Then fi nd the subject and correct the verb form.
- The bottles inside the carton is all broken.
- The newspaper between the doors are old.
- The paint cans against the walls was left open.
- My friend among all my classmates are the smartest.
- The most exciting movies in the list is adventure movies.
Another common error has to do with the placement of a prepositional phrase in
a sentence. Which of the following two sentences is the more precise one?
The boy ran down the stairs in the yellow boots.The boy in the yellow boots ran down the stairs.The answer, of course, depends on whether the stairs are actually wearing yellow
boots. If not, the second sentence is correct. What general rule can you conclude
from this error? Place a prepositional phrase as close as possible to the word it
describes. For example:
The man was late for his train on the cell phone.Logic tells us that the train was not on a cell phone, but the sentence is not that clear.
How can you make it clear that the man is using a cell phone? Simply place the
prepositional phrase where it belongs:
The man on the cell phone was late for his train.CHAPTER 3 Verbs, Prepositions, and Pronouns^59