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Grammar guide: Subject-verb agreement

A guide to the Standard English convention of subject-verb agreement

What is subject-verb agreement?

Subject-verb agreement is a convention of Standard English that requires a
and
to agree in number.
Incorrect:
  • Apples is different from oranges.
Correct:
  • Apples are different from oranges.
"Is" is the singular present tense of the verb "to be". "Are" is the plural present tense of the verb "to be".
Since "Apples " is a plural subject, it needs to be paired with the plural form of the verb.
This same logic must be applied to all subject-verb pairings.
Subject-verb agreement may be tested in one of the Form, structure, and sense questions that you encounter on test day.

How to identify subject-verb agreement questions

When approaching form, structure, and sense questions, it's important to identify which Standard English conventions are being tested.
You'll know to look for subject-verb agreement errors if different choices contain singular and plural forms of the same verb.
If you don't see this difference among the choices, then the question doesn't deal with subject-verb agreement.
Let's look at a subject-verb agreement question now:

Subject-verb agreement example
When a fire burns red or green or blue, the color of its flames ______ the chemical composition of the combustible material.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Choose 1 answer:


What can make subject-verb agreement errors difficult to spot?

When a verb follows directly after its subject, agreement is pretty easy to verify ("apples is" vs "apples are"). However, when sentence structures become more complex, subject-verb agreement errors can be much harder to spot.
Be extra cautious when you notice any of the following:

Extra words between the subject and verb

When additional words, especially other nouns, come between a subject and verb, agreement errors are much easier to miss.
If you notice extra words or phrases, eliminate them from the sentence, and try reading the subject straight into the verb.

Inverted sentences

Sometimes a subject will come after the verb. When this is the case, agreement errors are trickier to identify.
If you notice a subject that comes after its verb, try flipping the sentence and reading the subject straight in to the verb.

Top tips

Place subject and verb side-by-side

Any time you're not sure if a subject and verb agree, place them next to each other and see how they sound together. This tip helps cut through complex sentence structures and tends to make subject-verb agreement errors much more obvious.

Look out for prepositions

Prepositions like "with", "of", and "from" are often used to start phrases that describe the subject of a sentence. These phrases can cause confusion, as the object of the prepositional phrase ends up closer to the verb, and it's often a noun with a different number.
For example: "The sound of the trumpets was deafening."
The prepositional phrase "of the trumpets" may include a plural noun, but it describes the singular subject "sound", so we need to use the singular verb "was".

Plurals and the letter 's'

If you're a fluent speaker of English, you'll often be able to pair plural nouns with plural verbs based purely off of instinct and sound. But if that doesn't work, you need to be able to identify singular and plural verbs.
With nouns, plurals are usually formed by adding an 's' to the end of the word:
elephant → elephants
With verbs, though, the pattern is exactly the opposite. Typically, we form a plural verb by removing an 's':
  • The elephant runs.
  • The elephants run.

Your turn

Subject-verb agreement
A Neapolitan pizza made with San Marzano tomatoes ______ considered more traditional than one made with any other type of tomatoes.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Choose 1 answer:

Subject-verb agreement
The sum of money one donates to registered nonprofit organizations ______ a deduction that can be made from one's taxable income.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Choose 1 answer:

Subject-verb agreement
Called embouchure, the shape of a skilled trumpet player's lips ______ for playing a wide range of notes with clear tone and without muscle strain.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Choose 1 answer:

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