Intervening phrases

Definition

Intervening phrases are words or groups of words that separate the subject from the verb in a sentence, potentially causing confusion regarding subject-verb agreement. These phrases can include prepositional phrases, clauses, or other modifiers that provide additional detail about the subject but do not change the basic structure of the sentence. Understanding how these phrases function is essential for ensuring correct agreement between subjects and verbs.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Intervening phrases do not affect the number of the subject, meaning a singular subject still requires a singular verb, regardless of what is between them.
2. Common types of intervening phrases include prepositional phrases like 'with his friends' or 'in the park', which can lead to errors if the verb agrees with the noun within the phrase instead of the main subject.
3. When identifying the subject, it's important to mentally set aside any intervening phrases to ensure correct subject-verb agreement.
4. Intervening phrases can be quite lengthy and may include multiple modifiers, but they should not distract from finding the main subject and verb of the sentence.
5. Errors in subject-verb agreement due to intervening phrases are common in writing, so it is crucial to carefully proofread sentences for clarity and correctness.

Review Questions

• How can intervening phrases lead to confusion in subject-verb agreement?
  • Intervening phrases can lead to confusion in subject-verb agreement because they separate the subject from the verb, making it easy to misidentify which noun is being referenced. For example, in the sentence 'The group of students are going on a trip,' 'of students' is an intervening phrase that distracts from the singular subject 'group.' This might cause someone to mistakenly use a plural verb instead of recognizing that 'group' is singular and requires 'is.'
• What strategies can be used to correctly identify the subject when an intervening phrase is present?
  • One effective strategy to correctly identify the subject in the presence of an intervening phrase is to temporarily ignore any phrases that come between the subject and verb. This involves focusing solely on identifying the main noun performing the action before checking for any modifiers. For instance, in 'The teacher, along with her students, is preparing for the exam,' ignoring 'along with her students' allows you to see that 'teacher' is singular, thus requiring 'is' as the correct verb form.
• Evaluate how understanding intervening phrases can improve writing clarity and grammatical accuracy.
  • Understanding intervening phrases significantly enhances writing clarity and grammatical accuracy by allowing writers to recognize potential pitfalls in sentence structure. When writers know how these phrases function, they can avoid common mistakes such as incorrect subject-verb agreement caused by distraction. This awareness not only helps in constructing more coherent sentences but also promotes better proofreading habits, leading to fewer grammatical errors overall and a more professional presentation of their work.

Related terms

Subject: The noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb in a sentence.

Verb: The action word in a sentence that describes what the subject is doing.

Prepositional Phrase: A modifying phrase consisting of a preposition and its object, which can provide additional information about time, location, or direction.