Completers and Modifiers: Recognizing the Difference Between Completers and Subjects

Application 1

Instructions All the verbs in the following paragraph (broken in two parts to avoid scrolling) are numbered and in bold. In the text areas below the paragraph, type in the simple subjects and single-word completers that go with each verb. If a sentence has no completer, type in "X." Clicking on "answer" will reveal the correct responses.

Quilting 1. is an ancient craft. Before the settlement of the New World, women in Europe and Asia 2. had established a rich tradition of quilt stitchery. But in the isolated and poor communities of the American frontier, a new quilting style 3. evolved. This 4. was patchwork. The thrifty and ingenious pioneers 5. didn't discard their worn-out clothing. Fabric 6. was simply too precious for wasting.

#	Subjects	Verbs	Completers	Answers
1.		is
2.		had established
3.		evolved
4.		was
5.		did discard
6.		was

Instead, they 7. cut their old clothes into scraps and 8. stitched them into quilt tops. At quilting bees, women 9. shared their patchwork patterns, 10. gave names to them, and 11. moved the quilting craft into a new era.

#	Subjects	Verbs	Completers	Answers
7.		cut
8.		stitched
9.		shared
10.		gave
11.		moved

CONTENTS MAIN PAGE 4.1 Writing 4.2 "(Subject + Verb) Whom or What?" 4.3 Words That Act as Completers 4.4 Recognizing the Difference 4.5 How Modifiers Work 4.6 Single Word Modifiers 4.7 Prepositional Phrase Modifiers 4.8 Combining Sentences 4.9 Review and Practice 4.10 Fun With Grammar 4.11 Return to Your Writing 4.12 Mastery Test