Subject–Verb Agreement
SAT Reading & Writing · Rachel · Class 07 · October 17

Subject–Verb Agreement

Finding the Subject
The idea · The parts of a sentence

1. Sentence

  • A sentence has a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
  • Missing any one of the three → a sentence fragment.

2. Subject and predicate

  • Subject: whom or what the sentence is about.
  • Predicate: what the sentence says about the subject.

3. Complete and simple

  • Complete subject: all the words that tell whom or what.
  • Simple subject: the main word of the complete subject.
  • Verb (simple predicate): the main word or word group of the predicate.
  • Verb phrase: a main verb with one or more helping verbs (has been tested).

4. A prepositional phrase is never the subject

  • Prepositional phrase = preposition + object + modifiers (of the second trial).
  • Its noun is the object of the preposition, so it cannot also be the subject.

5. Number

  • Singular = one; plural = more than one.
  • A verb agrees in number with its subject.
  • A phrase or clause after the subject does not change its number.
  • One such phrase is a participial phrase: an -ing or -ed phrase that describes a noun (built by two rival companies).
  • In a verb phrase, the first helping verb agrees.
  • The resultssimple subject of the second trialprepositional phrase suggestverb a different cause. complete subject: The results of the second trial
  • The bridgesimple subject, built by two rival companiesparticipial phrase, carriesverb rail traffic.
  • The samplessimple subject havefirst helping verb been tested. verb phrase: have been tested
Test.
  1. Who or what is the sentence about? → the complete subject.
  2. Remove prepositional phrases and describing phrases or clauses → the simple subject.
  3. Find the verb, or the first helping verb, and match its number to the simple subject.
  • A1The verb agrees with the simple subject, not with the nearest noun.
    • A noun right before the verb is often the object of a preposition (of, in, on, from …).
    • That noun is inside a prepositional phrase, so it cannot be the subject.
    • The results of the second trial suggest a different cause.
    • The results of the second trial suggests a different cause.
    • The collection of letters and diaries is kept in Dublin.
  • A2Words between the subject and the verb do not change its number.
    • They describe the simple subject: a prepositional phrase, a participial phrase, words between commas, dashes or parentheses, a describing clause (who / which / that …, also with that left out).
    • Remove them and test again.
    • The bridge, built by two rival companies, carries rail traffic.
    • The samples the technician collected last week show no change.
    • The samples the technician collected last week shows no change.
  • A3Only some verb forms show number.
    • A present-tense verb: shows / show.
    • The first helping verb: is / are, was / were, has / have, does / do.
    • A past-tense verb other than was / were (arrived) or a modal (can) looks the same for one or many.
    • was / were, a form of be, shows number whether it is the main verb or a helping verb.
    • Settle the number first; then look at the tense.
    • The report was late. The reports were late.
    • The report arrived late. The reports arrived late.

SAT Questions

Question 1 · A1, A2, A3
The artistic talents of Barbara Chase-Riboud, most known for her 1979 historical novel Sally Hemings and the conversation it inspired, ______ limited to the realm of prose: she first excelled in sculpture, where her affinity for bronze—a material she described as “timeless” due to its use across eras and cultures—became part of her artistic identity.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. hasn’t been
  2. wasn’t
  3. isn’t
  4. aren’t
Worked Answer

D. aren’t

  1. Remove the prepositional phrase “of Barbara Chase-Riboud” and the phrase between the commas (“most known for … the conversation it inspired”).
  2. What is left: “The artistic talents ______ limited to the realm of prose.” The simple subject is “talents”, plural.
  3. The blank holds the first helping verb, the word that agrees. Three choices are singular (hasn’t been, wasn’t, isn’t). Only “aren’t” is plural → D.
Question 2 · A1, A2, A3
In the 1970s, Janaki Ammal, a prominent botanist, emerged as a powerful voice in India’s environmental conservation movement. Her exhaustive chromosomal survey of plants in Silent Valley, a pristine tropical forest in Kerala, India, that is home to nearly 1,000 species of native flora (many of which are endangered), ______ instrumental in the government’s decision to preserve the forest.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. are
  2. were
  3. have been
  4. was
Worked Answer

D. was

  1. The complete subject starts at “Her exhaustive chromosomal survey”. Simple subject: “survey”, singular.
  2. Remove everything between the simple subject and the blank: “of plants in Silent Valley” (prepositional phrases); “a pristine tropical forest in Kerala, India,” (between commas); “that is home to nearly 1,000 species of native flora” (describing clause); “(many of which are endangered)” (parenthesis).
  3. What is left: “Her … survey ______ instrumental in the government’s decision.” Only “was” is singular → D.