Readers expect to find the “actor” in a sentence in the grammatical subject. If the actor isn’t the subject, the sentence becomes more difficult to understand.
Examples:
Our suspicion was that the neighbors had stolen our dog.
The word “suspicion” is the grammatical subject, but it’s not an actor.
We suspected the neighbors had stolen our dog.
Now “we,” the actor, is also the grammatical subject.
Rewrite each sentence to put an actor in the subject. In some cases you may have to add an actor. Highlighting the subject of each clause can help you, but you do not have to do it for the assignment.
1. There are six cows living in the barn.
Rewrite:
2. Bob’s plan was to go to the library for an hour, then work out at the gym.
Rewrite:
3. Here is the room where you’ll be sleeping.
Rewrite:
4. Although we were hungry, there was no time to eat before we left for the airport.
Rewrite:
5. The professor’s expectation was that everyone would do well on the exam.
Rewrite:
6. Despite the heat, there were 3,000 people at the outdoor concert.
Rewrite:
7. Mary’s instructions to her babysitter were clear and detailed.
Rewrite: