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Lesson 09 · English · Subject–verb agreement

Step 1 of 4

Find the wrong step

A reporter examining one box filled with many moon rocks
Your lessonSubject–verb agreementCore

The Moon-Rock Headline

A reporter is writing one sentence about a single box that contains several moon rocks.

Whole subject
A box
Extra detail
of moon rocks

Your question

Which verb agrees with the sentence's true subject?

Lumi’s answer: “A box of moon rocks sparkle at midnight.”

1

Step 1 of 4

Find the wrong step

Find where the reasoning first breaks

Start with Step 1 and move downward. Choose the first line that stops making sense.

Later lines may be wrong too. Pick the first mistake.

Lumi’s work

These lines form one solution. Read them from top to bottom.

  1. 1

    The noun nearest the blank is rocks.

  2. 2

    The words of moon rocks add detail about the box.

  3. 3

    The nearest noun is always the subject, so the subject is rocks.

  4. 4

    Write: A box of moon rocks sparkle at midnight.