Skill 1 : Subject and Verb

You know that a sentence in English should have a subject and a verb. The most common types of problems that you will encounter in the structure section of the TOEFL test are related to subjects and verbs; perhaps the sentence is missing either the subject  or the verb or both, or perhaps the sentence has an extra subject or verb.
example 1 :
........was ringing continuously for  hours.

1. Loudly
2. In the morning
3. The phone
4. The bells

In this example, you should notice immediately that there is a verb (was ringing) but there is no subject. Answer (3) is the best answer because it is a singular subject that agrees with the singular verb was ringing . Answer )1) loudly and answer (2) in the morning, are not the subject, so they are not correct. Although answer (4) bells could be a subject, it is not correct because bells is plural and it does not agree with the singular verb was ringing.

example 2 : 
Newspaper....... every morning and every evening.

1. delivery
2. are delivered
3. on time
4. regularly

In this example, you should notice immediately  that the sentence has a subject (newspaper) but there is no verb. Because answer (2) are delivered, is a verb,, it is the best answer. Answer (1), (3), and (4) are not verb, so they are not correct.

example 3 :
The plane.....landing at the airport in five minutes.

1. it is
2. it really is
3. is descending
4. will be 

 This sentence has a subject (plane) and has part of a verb (landing); to be correct, some form of the verb be is needed to make the verb complete. Answer (1) and (2) are incorrect because the sentence already has a subject (plane) and does not need the extra subject it. Answer (3) is incorrect descending is an extra part of a verb that is necessary because of landing. Answer (4) is the best answer ; will be together with landing is a complete verb.

The following chart outlines the key information that you should remember about subject and verbs.
" A sentence in English must have at least one subject and one verb. The first thing you should do as you read a sentence in the structure section of the TOEFL test is to find the subject and the verb."

Skill 8 : Noun Clause Connectors/Subject

In skill 7 we saw that noun clause connectors can be used too introduce noun clauses. In skill 8 we will see that in some cases a noun clause connectors is just a connector; a noun clause can also be subject of at the clause at same time. Study the clauses and connectors in the following sentences :

• I know what happened yesterday 

• We are thinking about what happened yesterday. 

In the first example , there are two clauses : I know and what happened yesterday . These two clauses are joined by the connector what. It is important to understand that in this sentence the word what serve two functions. It is both the subject of the verb happened and the connector that joins the two clauses.
In the second example, there are two clauses. In first clause we is the subject of are thinking. In the second clause what is the subject of happened. What also serves as the connector that joins two clauses. Then noun clauses what happened yesterday functions as the object of the preposition about.

The following example show this sentence pattern could be tested in Structure section of the TOEFL test.
example :
The company was prepared for ........with the economy.

1. it
2. the problem
3. what
4. when

 In this example, the sentence contains the main clause The company was prepared for and another verb, happened. The sentence needs a subject for the verb happened and a connector to join two clauses. Answer (3) is the best answer because what  is both a connector and a subject. Answer (1) is incorrect because it is a subject, but there is no connector. Answer (2) is incorrect because the problem is a subject, but there is no connector. Answer (4) is incorrect because when is a connector, but it is not a subject.

The following chart list the noun clause connector /subject and the sentence pattern used with them.

NOUN CLAUSE CONNECTOR / SUBJECT

Who what which

S        V             Noun Clause Connector/Subject          V

Al        told me                   what                                      happened