Everybody loves raymond aunt serena

Subject Verb Agreement

You know how you have to conjugate the verb to match the subject in foreign languages? We have the same thing in English, and it canget tricky even though thesimple cases seem so natural and obvious tous:

Example 1

Wong: You is smart. '

Correct Youaresmart.

Example 2

Wrong: Everyday thealarmclock go«» offaitdwewakesup to confront our lives.

CoiT^ Everyday thealarmclock goes off and wewake up to confront our lives.

The subject isanoun (person, place, or thing) thatis the "doer" or "main feature" in the sentence. Averb isan action word. Think about the simple sentences above and how awkward it would be to have verbs that don't agree with the subject. You don't even have to know what tlie subject and verb of each sentence is to know that it's awkward. Now the SATwon't make it that easy on you; they'll intentionally try to trick your ear. Let's do an example:

Investigations into the scandal {shows/show) a lot more than wowant to know.

To pick theright verb, we must first find thesubject. Let's start byapplying what we learned in a previous chapter and crossout the prepositional phrases:

Investigations irrte-the-seandai (shows/show) a lot more than we want to know.

What's left is the subject—investigations! Now llie second step is to ask yourself whether itwesfii^aHons is singular or plural. Well, it's plural because of the s. meaning there's more than one. Therefore, we need the plural verb show. And that's the whole process! Cross out the prepositional phrases and you'll beable to pick

thesubject from thenounsthat are left. It's usually theremaining noun closest to the verb.

Ifyou're ever unsure ofwiiether a verb such asshow issingular orplural, test it by putting he and Ihey in front and then asking yourself which sounds more correct:

He show... OR Theyshow...

Hopefully, They show... sounds more correct to you, wliich means show is the plural form (since Ihey isobvi ously plural).

Let's try somemore difficult ones. Note that in the following example, we can cross out both a prepositional phrase and a comma phrase.

Examples

Question: Films by Miyazaki and Itami, including Miyazaki's Spirited Away, (exciteslexcite) the I imagination. i

Stepl: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: | Films by-Miyazaki and Itamt, mehtdtng Miyazaki's Spirited-Away, {excites/excite) the! imagination. |

Step 2: What is the subject? Filtns | Step 3: Is Films singular or plural? Plural. |

Answer: Films by Miyazaki and Itami, including Miyazaki's Spirited Azvay, excite the imagination. |

Example 4

Question: Her jewelry, in addition to her pokemon cards, {umfyoere) stolen by the robber. \ s

Stepl: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: | Herjewelry, in-additien to her pokemon cards, {was/ivere) stolen by-tl\e-robber.

Step 2: What is the subject? Her jaixby | Step 3: Is Heryciw/n/singular or plural? Singular. ]

Answer Herjewelry, in addition toher pokemon cards, wasstolenby therobber. *

You might think that the verb should be plural because thesentence mentions both jewelry and cards, but becauseof the commaphrase, thesubject is just the jewelry.

CHAPTHRe SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Example 5

Question: Beside thebins, where onecould smell the stenchof rotteneggs, (rvasAoere) a packof philos ophy majors gatliering cans for recycling.

Step1: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: Beside the bins, wheie-eme-eould-smell the stcnch-of-fotten-eggs, (msAoere) a pack ©f;

Step 2: What is the subject? a pack

Step 3: Isa pack singularor plural? Singular.

Answer. Beside the bins, whore one could smell the stench of rotten eggs, was a pack of philosophy majors gathering cans for recycling. i

Again, make sure you can identify that is singular whereas were is plural. Everyone uses the correct form in simple conversation, but some studcnte have trouble identifying the correct form in a grammar test setting.

Example 6

Question: Inside heaven's kingdom (resls/rest) Charlie and his angels. I

Step 1: Cross out the prepositional phra.ses/comma phrases/relative clauses; | Inside hem-ev^kiftgdom (rests/rest) Charlie and his angels. I

Step 2: What is tlie subject? C/inr//t*flHd/H'sflH^/s | Step 3: IsCharlie and his angels singularor plural? Plural.

Answer Insideheaven's kingdom rest Charlieand his angels.

Example 7

Question: There (is/are) many other examples to support my point.

Step 1: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: There aren't any to cross out. Note that to support is nota prepositional phrase because It. doesn't end in a noun. It's an infinitive.

Step 2: What is thesubject? tmnyother exatnples

Step 3: Is numy other examples singularor plural? FluraL

Answer There are many other examples to support my point . r. L These last three examples show that the subject can appear after the verb, something the SAT loves to do to trip shidents up.

Another question variation you'll come across deals with helping verbs, which are necessary to form certain tenses. Examples of helpingverbsare boldcd below;

has seen

was forgotten is watching have been

When you seethese verb forms, it is thehelping verb thatmust agree with thesubject.

Example 8

Question: The few ideas that I'vecome upwith last night (tmfliave) given myteam enough to work with.

Step 1: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: The few ideasthat I'vecomeup witlr last-night (luts/lutve) given myteam enough to work with.

Step 2: What is the subject? Thefew ideas

Step 3: Is Thefew ideas singularor plural?Plural. ;; \

Correct: The few ideas that I've come upwith last night have given my team enough towork with.

Example 9

Question: The forks and knives are in the kitchen, and the jar with the thai peanut sauce {has/tiave) been sittingin the refrigerator.

Step1: Cross out the prepositional phrases/comma phra.<}es/relative clauses: The forks and knives are in the kitchen, and the jarwith the thai-peanut satiee (has/have) been sitting in the refrigerator. r

Step 2; Whatis the subject? f/jc/ar

Step3: Is the jar singular or plural? Singular,

Answer The forks and laiives are in the kitchen, and the jarwith the thaipeanutsauce hasbeen sitting in thereftig^ator.

Example 10

Question: The players on ourall-star tennis team {is/are) taken on luxiuy cruises every year.

Step1: Cross out theprepositional phrases/comma phrases/relative clauses: The playere onouraM-atar-tennis team (is/are) taken on luxury cruises every year.

Step2: What is the subject? The players

Step 3: Is The players singular or plural? Plural.

Answer The players onourall-star tennis team are taken onluxury cruises every year.

Another question variation you might see isone in which the verb is in a phrase orclause you would normally crosscut. Tor example,

Ivisited my aunt, who (is/are) a panda caretaker, earlier today.

Note that the underlined portion isa comma phrase. To find the subject if the verb is located in a phrase or clause like the one above, just ask yourself what it's describing. In this case, the phrase is obviously describing my aunt, which is singular. Therefore, we need the singular verb is.

1visited my aunt, who is a panda caretaker, earlier today.

CHAPTERS SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Example 11

Question: Where are the cookies that {wasAvere) in the cookie jar? •• | «

Answer Where are the cookies that were in the cookie jar? . . , ^ *

In Example 11, we have a relative clause that describes cookies, which is plural.

Example 12

Question; 1haveno interest in luxury products, which{calers/caler) only to the wealthy.

Answer Ihave no interest in luxury products, which cater only to the wealthy. | Now let's walk through a really tricky example that combines everything we've learned so far in this chap-

Mastery ofmagic tricks that truly{surprises/surprise) theaudience (requires/require) lotsof time.

Here, we have to figure out the subjects for two vcihs. Cross out the prepositional phrases and relative clause:

Mastery of lots of-time.

Now it's easy tosee thatnmfery is themain subject ofthesentence. Mastery issingular soweneed thesingular verb requites. After all, it's the mastery that requires a lot of time. But let's gel back to the first verb, which is crossed out within the relative clause, and ask ourselves what that relative clause is describing. What is truly surprising the audience? Magic tricks! Magic tricks is plural so wo need the plural verb surprise.

Mastery ofmagic tricks that trulysurprise theaudience requires lotsof time.

Now, a few more rules you should know:

Example 13

Question: TTze Siffipsons (is/arc) the longest running American sitcom.

Answer TheSimpsons is the longest running American sitcom. I

Rule: Names ofbooks, TV shows, bands, and movies are all singular. |

Example 14

Question: Charles and Kate (uusAit-n.') at the ball last night. i ^

Answer: Charles and Kate were at tlie ball last night.

Rule: Subjects joinedby(uid are alwaysplural.

Example 15

Question: Everybody {lovesflove) Raymond.

Answer. Everybody loves Raymond.

Rule: Everybody^ everything, every, anybody, anyone, no one are all singular subjects. ^^3

Example 16

Questions: Each ofthe candidates (/ws/J/aiw) two minutes torespond. | Neitherof the candidates (wmits/wanl) to respond. I

Answers: Each of thecandidates has twominutes to respond. i Neither of the candidates wants to respond. - ^ I

Rule; £acA, neitfier, and either are all singularsul^ecte. iH;.. "• | Before we go to the exercises, you probably have quite a few grammar rules swirling around inyour head. Let's goover a few common emirs thatstudents make when they startthinking about subjects andverbs. Take a look at the followingsentence:

He likesto sway to R&B music instead of rocking to AC/DC.

On the SAT, you must be able to identify which words are verbs before you can check for their subjects. Some students mistakenly think that fo sway and rocking are verbs in that sentence. However, fo sway iscalled an infinitive (to be, to hate, to rim,...) and rocking is called a gerund {running, cooking, exploding,...). You've probably heard of infinitives in French orSpanish class, whore it's the root form of averb before you conjugate it. it's thesame in English. Infinitives and gerunds are notverbs so there's noneed tocheck forsubject-verb agreement. The onlyactual verb in thisexample is likes. Again, gerundsand infinitives areneververbs. Don't waste time checking for their subjects.

Lastly, tlie SAT loves to throw in more thanoneverb in the same sentence. Tliat way, oneoftheverbs can be buried deeper into the sentence to fool your ear. In these questions, split the sentence into two andmake sure both verbs agree.

Example 17

Wrong: John and Harry studied computer science and was recruited by Google to develop new services.

Sentence 1: Johnand Harry studied computer science. Correct.

Sentence 2; John and Harry was recruited by Google todevelop now services. Wrong.

Gorrect: John and Harry studied computer science and were recruited by Google todevdop new services. r:

Example 18

Wrong: Poi.sonous traps thatattracts and then kills offrats are spread throughout this office.

Sentence 1: Poisonous traps thatattracts rats are spread throughout this office. Wron^.

Sentence 2: Poisonous traps that then kills off rats are spread throughout this office. Wrong.

Correct: Poisonous traps that attract and then killoff ratsare spread throughout this office.

CHAPTl'R6 SUBJECT VERB AGRLliMnNT

Example 19

Wrong: I was walking down Ihe street and were chatting with my friend about hisday.

Sentence 1: i was walking down the street. Correct.

Sentence 2: 1were diatting with my friend about his day. Wroug.

Correct: 1waswalking down thestreetand (was) chatting with myfriend aboutliisday.

In Example 19, the second zua$ is unnecessary because the first loas serves as a helping verb for both lualkhig and clwlting. Ifwe stripped outall the details of the sentence, itwould read, / was walking and chatting..., which is a grammatically fine sentence.

Exercise 1: As a basic warm-up, fill in the right singular and plural veit> forms for each ofthe following verbs. Answers for this chapter start on page 212.

To Go To Have To Win To Kiss

Present Tense

Fast Tense

Exercise 2; Choose the correct verb. Answers for this chapter start on page 212.

1. Participants in the charity organization (was/were) angry when noonedonated.

2. The habit of hugging your pillowwhilesleeping{indicates/indicate) that you misssomeone.

3. Elderly criminals in Florida sometimes {leads/lead) the poUce onchases atspeeds of10 to15 mph.

4. Bonnie and herboyfriend Clyde (likes/Iikc) to jump intoponds to avoid the cops, often forgetting that they can't swim.

5. Every Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche (is/arc) ownedbyVolkswagen.

6. Propaganda that's played off as the truth (has/have) been used throughout history topersuade the masses.

7. Forcing yourself to forget thepain someone else has caused you only {hurts/hurt) you more.

8. One of the skills 1would like to Icam (is/are) the ability to talk while inhaling through the nose.

9. Some ofthe superpowers Idream ofhaving (includes/include) summoning jack o' lanterns on people's lawns during Halloween and making people burst into the Gangnam style dance.

10. Each iPhone 5 (costs/cost) Apple $168 and (costs/cost) us $699.

1. Each of the three little pigs{xvas/uKre) afraid of the bigbad wolf.

2. According to the phonebook, the number of Americans named Herp Derp (isfare) four.

3. A good cook rinses thedishes and {repeats/repeat) thesamerecipes to perfection.

4. Please let me know if the group (stuuibles/stiimble) upon or {mamges/mmiage) to find the trainstation.

5. Anumber ofpeople {Ims/havc) hyperthymesia, a condition that{alloivs/alloxo) them toremember every detail of their lives.

5. There (toasAiKiv) an awkward silence whenMike's date told himshewasactually a man.

7. A flock of birds and a bear (hasAiave) beencaptured in the field.

3. There (is/are) three types of people in this world: those who can count and those who can't.

3. There (is/are) stashed below the frigid depths of the arctic a magnificent treasure that no one has ever been able to recover.

3. There (is/are) in theworksof Emerson an underlying tone ofquietappreciation.

1. Snow White and the Seven Divarves (xvasfyvere) purportedly based on cocaine; the seven dwarves woreeach side effects of the drug.

I. Harry, along with Ron and Hermiono, {attends/attend) Hogwarts School of Wizardry.

3. Frodo, as well as Merry and Pippin, (fights/figbt) to protect the oneringof power.

1. This picture book on the art ofnudity in the modem age (is/are) a thought-provoking read.

5. Theextent of our universeand thosebeyond constantly[amazes/anxaze) me.

3. We found out that hismother, as well as hisfriends, {uias/xvere) covering forMike's crime.

7. Aliens from another planet (Ims/luxve) come here to kill us all.

3. The pigs you will be dissecting in this class (is/are) avaUable as take-home dinners afterwards.

3. Human brain cells, the universe, and the internet all {has/have) similar structures.

). Each team made up of one girl and one boy {has/have) to reenact a scene from Romeoand Juliet.

I. Speaking more than one language (niakes/mala:) thebrainmore flexible and agile.

1. Getting tostuffmy face silly with delicious food (is/are) thebestpart ofbeingan obese food critic.

?. When (xms/xvere) the cowboy and the Indians last here?

1. The class bullylaughs at and then (interferes/inteifire) with those trying toget work done.

). Brendan and Brianna areoutofmoney and (has/have) used up allpossible guesses.

CHAPTER 6 SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

36. Paris and Nicole grew up richand {wasAoere) sheltered all throughout life.

37. What (does/do) that fact have to do with anything we just talked about?

38. He sets his alarm but, when the morning comes, (fails/fail) to wake up.

39. Marcieand Michaelexerciseeveryday and, in doing so, {improves/improve) their stamina.

40. Alice, in addition to a scarecrow, a tin man, and a lion, (tries/try) to find the Wizard of Oz.

41. A jar of hearts (is/are) on the counter.

42. Several trucks and an oil tanker near the highway exit {was/were) flipped on their sides.

43. Dreams witliin a dream that (is/arc) spliced and diced up insideanother dream {conj^ises/canfitse) me.

44. A herd of cows and a slow moving tortoise {is/are) relaxing at the beach.

45. The lines for the elevator that normally (carries/carry) just five passengers{wi}sAocrc) reinstated becausethe crowd of fat commuters (jvasAfere) too heavy for it.

46. The diner near the dorms which {housesAwiise) the students {serves/serve) breakfast all day.

47. Thewidely recognized red coloring of stop signseverywhere (akrls/alert) people to stop.

Exercise 3: Answers for this chapter start on page 212.

The Writer's Life

On every author's bookshelf (is/are) dusty

and wornout reference books. Inevery desk drawer

(sifs/siO a stackof papers waitingto be edited. A

wide variety of pens, most of which are blue, red, or

black, IQ (is/are) scattered across the desk. The life

of a writer is a lonely yet hecticexistence.

The act of putting words on paper and edit

ing them (is/are) mentally draining. The notion

tliatbecause words come naturally to us when we're

speaking, they should also come easilywhen we're

writing, {ntisrq;resents/misrepresent) the strug

gles that everyauthor faces. Puttingwords together

in a logical and coherent way is different from hav

ing a conversation, which has the benefit of context.

If the reader does not understand something, the

author does not have the luxury of explaining it an

other way.

Inaddition,writersdo more thanjustwrite. Re

search and investigation into their subject matter

^2 iplays/play) a crucial role in good writing. Af ter all, perfect grammar and well-crafted sentences

about a vague topicwrittenoffthe lop of one's head

^2 jdoe '̂/do) not make for a good read. Relevant books must be read and interviews must be con

ducted before an author feels informed enough to

write something substantial.

Most writers learn their craft in school. A

strong liberal arts education that

^2 grammar, style, struc ture, and prose Q (fosters/foster) great writing.

Upon graduation, writers must develop and apply

all those skills to the research, writing, and edit

ing phases of any given project. Draft after draft,

they have to rework and tweak what they've al

ready done. This dedication to the craft and atten

tion to detail that {rivals/rival) that of a surgeon

Qj (requires/require) discipline and work etliic. Au-

tliors such as James Joyce ^2 {ftos/have) equated

writing to torture. Only when all the pages in the

book are written m {does/do) writers feel tlic true

joy of writing.

Nevertheless, becaiise many people think that

writing is subjective and that there QQ (is/are) no

right or wrong answers, the belief that writers have

it easy, as well as all its underlying misconceptions,

IH (persists/persist).

Modifiers Try to recognize what's funny about thissentence:

After beingbeaten and deflated, thebakershaped and seasoned thedough.

The sentence is ridiculous becauseof the comma phrase at the start—it seems like the baker is being beaten before lie goes off towork on the dough. Afier being beaten and deflated is called a modifier because itmodifies or describes someone or something in thesame sentence. Here, the modifier ismisplaced. Instead, it should go right next tothe thing it's supposed tomodify:

After beingbeaten and deflated, thedough wasshaped and seasoned by thebaker.

A modifier is like a describing phrase. How do you know if a phrase is a modifier? Usually it comes at the beginning of the sentence and isseparated off by a comma (but not always). Ifall you read was After being beaten and deflated, your natural thought would be, "Who or What is being beaten?" Having that tliought ishow you know you're dealing with a modifier. Without the rest of the sentence, it leaves you wondering what's being talked about. When correcting sentences tliat have this error, you want to make sure there is a sensible noun that is right next to the modifier.

Let'sdo a coupleexamplesso you can sec how modifiers are tested.

Example 1

Wrong: Ibought a house from thelocal bakery made ofgingeibread. ;

Correct: 1bou^t ahouse made of gingerbread from tiie local bakery. •^

Modifiers don't necessarily have to beat the startofthesentence. Here, made ofgingerbread should be placed next to the house it's describing. Otherwise, it seems like the local bakery is the thing that's made of ginger bread.

Example 2

Wrong; Watching theend of the world, our livraflashed before our eyes.

Correct: While wewerewatching theend of theworld,our lives flashed before our ey«.

In this example, the sentence makes nosense because our lives don't have eyes towatch the end ofthe world with. The modifier Watching the end ofthe U'orld needs to modify we even though that word's noteven in the sentence. Therefore, the correctversion puts in the subject xve and re-wordsthe sentence.

The plirase While xve ivere xvatching the end ofthe xvorld is an example of a dependent clause, which contains a subject and a verb butcan't stand alone as itsown complete sentence. Dependent clauses areNOT modifiers. Note the difference between the wrong and correct versions. The wrong version uses a modifier whereas the correct version uses a dependent clause. Dependent clauses don't leave us wondering who or zuluit like a modifier does. Reading just tlie first part of the correct version, we already know the subject is we. With dependent clauses, wedon't have to worry about modifier errors, because again, they aren't modifiers.

Keep modifiers rigfitiiKct to thethingthey'resupposedto describe.

Example 3

Wrong: Running fiercely to the bathroom, John'spantsdropped. j

Correct: Running fiercely to thebathroom, John dropped his pants. ! li

Understanding this example is SUPER IMPORTANT. On rare occasions, the SAT will try to trick you byputting the modifier Runnhigfiercely to the bathroom right next tojohn. But here, it'snot lohn butJohn's pants that's ac tually being modified. And ofcourse, pants can't bythemselves runto the bathroom. So be extremely careful when there's an apostrophe s.

Ji Example 4

Wrong: Spotted dealing cocaine, the police arrested the drug dealers.

Correct: The police arrested thedrugdealers, who were spotted dealing cocaine.

Example 5

Wrong: Though cooked and seasoned to perfection, the taste of ketchup-covered octopus was revolting.

Correct: Though cooked and seasoned to perfection, the ketchup-covered octopus had a revolting teste.

Correct: The taste of ketchup-covered octopus, ihough cooked and seasoned to perfection, was

In this case, the modifier should modify tlie food itself, not the taste of it.

CHAPTER 7 MODIFIERS

English isa weird language. Don'tbeconfusedby constructions like theonebelow:

Tlie magician walked across tire stage, dazzling tire crowd with card tricks. • •

This sentence is grammatically correct and does not contain amodifier error—it's understood that dialing ^ llw crowd zoith card tricks applies tothesubject, the magician, even tlrough it's placed next to the stage. Modifier errors will typically occur when thedescribing phrase is at the start ofthe sentence, as in theexamples above, so don't overanalyze these types of sentences. Note that lire comma is important; witlrout it, there WOULD be a modifier error.

Exercise 1: After seeing enough of tliese, you should be able to instinctively spot the ridiculousness (is that a word?) ofsentences that have tills error. There canbemultiple ways ofcorrecting them, bycorrecting these on your own, you'll learn to think for yourself and more quickly identify the correct answers on the SAT, rather than relying on theanswerchoices to "think" for you. Answers for thischapter starton page215.

1. Hunting for deer,Julian's rifle rnksfired and burst into flames.

2. Having finished the SAT, the rest of life was easy.

3. Having had no water for five days, the steak and cheese sandwich was squeezed for the grease that we could drmk.

4. Active in community service and local affairs, Obama's passion for politics iswhat would eventually lead him to the presidency.

5. By blasting music at home, the neighbors will starttoacquire your musical taste.

6. By majoring inbasket weaving, a lifetime ofregret and despairawaits.

7. After catching a cold, my lung surgery was the perfect cure.

8. Whileon air at the radio station, the microphone of the talk show host exploded.

9. As a young child growing up inMassachusetts, Mitt's father gave him airplanes asgifts.

10. Hidden far from sunlight in thecaves ofMars, scientists have uncovered an E.T. colony.

11. Chris saw the march of marines looking outside the window as crowdscheeredon either side.

12. Overcooked and over-seasoned, Gordon Ramsay swore at the cook anddumped the fish into the garbage.

13. Dressed ina cute outfit and filled with cotton. Tiffany loved thesoft feel ofher teddy bear.

14. The magician dazzled and surprised theaudience members wearing a cloak and tophat.

15. Decorated withcolorful ornaments and stars, we took pictures by tlieChristmas tree.

16. Aftermissing an easygoal, thecrowd booed the soccer player.

17. Having forgotten about the homework assignment, his comments on the book inclass were general state ments tliat could apply to any book.

18. To get the best view of the movie, our seats were reserved in the front and center.

19. Prancing joyously from field to field, the scientist followed the deer.

20. Though skinny and awkward from the outset, Conan's sense of humor made him a television success.

21. Climbing from tree to tree, the explorers avidly watched the red pandas.

CHAPTER 7 MODIFIERS

Exercise 2: Answers for this chapter start on page 215.

Tennis

Since the age of 10, Qj tennis has been my

daughter Cayla's fascination. Having watched

them play live, Venus and Serena Williams became

her idols and she tries to imitate their aggressive

playstyle. Whenothersixyearoldswere watch

ing cartoons, Cayla would be watching tennis. So,

as encouraging parents, KB lessons were the next

stop. At the ages of tenand eleven,the Williams sis

ters were enrolled at the Academy of Rick Macci to

improve their game, so getting Cayla started with

the game early seemed likea good idea.

A) NO CHANGE

B) tennis has been the fascination of my daugh ter Cayla.

C) my daughter Cayla has been fascinated with tennis.

D) my daughter Cayla's fascination has been tennis.

A) NO CHANGE

B) After Cayla watched them play live, C) After watching live, D) Watching them play live.

A) NO CHANGE

B) Having watched cartoons, C) When watching cartoons,

D) Cartoons being watched by other six year olds.

A) NO CHANGE

B) lessons had to be C) Cayla's lessons were D) we decided lessons were

A simple sport, the rules of tennis have not

changed since 1890. The main idea is to hit the ball

inside the opponent's side of the court with a rac

quet. Made and shaped from wood, players

found the firstracquetsdifficult to play with, but by

improving the imderlying technology, |Q today's

racquets are more powerful than ever before. Hit

ting the ball, a player's grip must remain firm

and balanced.

A) NO CHANGE

B) tennis has not had its rules changed C) tennis's niles have not changed D) no one has changed the rules of tennis

A) NOCHANGE

B) the game of tennis was C) the first racquets were D) the first racquets were found to be

A) NOCHANGE

B) they are C) today's racquets have become D) today's racquet creators have made them

A) NOCHANGE

B) the grip of the player must remain C) the grip must be kept D) a player must keep the grip

CHAITERZ MODIFIERS

Because he thought of tennis as a serious sport,

her coach was quite demanding. During one par

ticular match, my daughter found it hard to see be

cause of the sun. B| She swung and missed the

tennis ball squinting at the sky. Her coach got very

angry.

Needless to say, we soon had to find her a new

coach. Searching for one that was more patient,

it was time we asked our friends for recommenda

tions. Playing tenniscan be tough,but it should also

be enjoyable. Tlienew coach turned out to be great.

With spin and power, she taught Cayla a bet

ter way to serve the ball. The first time she spun the

ball in, she jumped up and down excitedly like it

was Christmas morning.

Growing in confidence, IQ hermovements be

came more smooth. At one point, Cayla even chal

lenged her coach to a friendly match. Ican't wait to

see how she evolves as a tennis player in the coming

A) NO CHANGE

B) She swung and missed the tennis ball by squinting at the sky.

C) She swung and missed, squinting at the sky, the tennis ball.

D) Squintingat the sky, she swung and missed the tennis ball.

A) NO CHANGE

B) we asked friends for C) our friends gave us D) our friends were asked for

A) NO CHANGE

B) She taught Cayla, with spin and power, a better way to serve the ball.

C) She taught Cayla a better way to serve, with spin and power, the ball.

D) She taught Cayla a better way to serve the ball with spin and power.

A) NO CHANGE

B) her movements were smoother. C) she moved more smoothly. D) the way she moved became smoother.