Introduction
Subject/verb agreement on the CLT could also be called “singular/plural agreement.” Questions in this category invariably ask you to identify whether the verb’s subject is singular or plural. Once you have determined the nature of the subject, don’t forget this added feature of English: while -s on the end of a word pluralizes a noun, it actually “singularizes” a verb. Think about the verb “to love” and conjugate the verb completely, starting with “I love”, then “you love”, etc. Where do you see the singular form? Only in the third-person singular, with a subject of he, she, or it. This form is really what you need to know for CLT subject/verb agreement questions; either the answer will be a third-person singular with “-s” that the test will try to disguise a plural form, or it will be a plural form that the context might deceptively make you think is actually singular with “-s”. Read on to learn more and practice!
Approach Question
Should you leave the sentence below as it is or opt for one of the three alternatives listed in the answer choices?
The students, all crowded around the phone of their class president, watch the viral video.
- NO CHANGE
- watches
- watching
- was watching
This example involves a classic distraction used by standardized tests: putting lots of words between the subject and verb of a sentence. Your study of punctuation should remind you that the part between the commas can be lifted out (think Handlebar Rule) so you can see the subject more clearly. The subject is not “phone” or “president” (for those nouns are not in the central part of the sentence and do not point to those doing the watching).
Once we realize that the subject of the “watching” happening here is “students”, the answer becomes clearer. Is it “students watch,” “students watches,” or “students was watching”? (It can’t be “students watching” because we need a main verb for this sentence and an “-ing” form can’t be our main verb. Hopefully “students watch” sounds best to you; notice that there is not an “-s” on the end of the verb; according to what was said above in the introduction, that means we have a plural verb. And since “students” is plural, that’s exactly what we want. The answer is NO CHANGE.
Part 1: General Strategy
- Identify the subject and verb.
-
First, isolate the subject and verb of the sentence. Ignore intervening phrases that do not affect agreement.
-
Example: The pack of wolves was howling at the moon.
(Subject: pack, which is singular; → singular verb: was)
- Handle compound subjects carefully.
- When two subjects are joined by “and,” they usually take a plural verb. Exceptions include when they form a single idea.
- Example: The president and the vice president are in the Oval Office.
- Example: Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic dish. (Singular idea)
- Account for intervening phrases.
- Example: There are several reasons for this mistake.
- If the verb comes before the noun, keep reading until you find the noun.
- Words between the subject and verb, like prepositional phrases or appositives, do not change the agreement.
- Example: The leader of the teams is arriving soon.
- Pronouns like “everyone” and “each” are always singular.
- Example: Each of the players is prepared.
Practice Passage
In this section, you’ll find an excerpt from Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu’s “The Spirit of the Laws”*, translated by Thomas Nugent and published in the public domain by Fordham University. We have included five Subject/Verb Agreement questions to go with the passage.
In every government there are three sorts of power; the legislative; the executive, in respect to things dependent on the law of nations; and the executive, in regard to things that depend on the civil law.
By virtue of the first, the prince or magistrate [1] enact temporary or perpetual laws, and amends or abrogates those that have been already enacted. By the second, he makes peace or war, sends or receives embassies; establishes the public security, and provides against invasions. By the third, he punishes criminals, or determines the disputes that arise between individuals. The latter we shall call the judiciary power, and the other simply the executive power of the state.
The political liberty of the subject is a tranquility of mind, arising from the opinion each person has of his safety. In order to have this liberty, it is requisite the government be so constituted as one man need not be afraid of` another…
Most kingdoms in Europe [2] enjoyed a moderate government, because the prince, who is invested with the two first powers, leaves the third to his subjects. In Turkey, where these three powers are united in the sultan’s person the subjects groan under the weight of a most frightful oppression…
The whole power is here united in one body; and though there is no external pomp that indicates a despotic sway, yet the people [3] feel the effects of it every moment.
Hence it is that many of the princes of Europe, whose aim has been leveled at arbitrary power, have constantly set out with uniting in their own persons, all the branches of magistracy, and all the great offices of state.
The executive power ought to be in the hands of a monarch; because this branch of government, which has always need of expedition, is better administered by one than by many: Whereas, whatever depends on the legislative powers [4] are oftentimes better regulated by many than by a single person.
But if there was no monarch, and the executive power was committed to a certain number of persons selected from the legislative body, there would be an end then of liberty; by reason the two powers would be united, as the same persons would actually sometimes have, and would moreover be always able to have, a share in both.
From a manner of thinking that prevails amongst mankind, they set a higher value upon courage than timorousness, on activity than prudence, on strength than counsel. Hence, the army will ever despise a senate, and respect their own officers. They will naturally slight the orders sent them by a body of` men, whom they look upon as cowards, and therefore unworthy to command them. So that as soon as the army depends on the legislative body, the government [5] become a military one; and if the contrary has ever happened, it has been owing to some extraordinary circumstances. It is because the army was always kept divided; it is because it was composed of several bodies, that depended each on their particular province; it is because the capital towns were strong places, defended by their natural situation, and not garrisoned with regular troops. Holland, for instance, is still safer than Venice; she might drown, or starve the revolted troops; for as they are not quartered in towns capable of furnishing them with necessary subsistence, this subsistence is of course precarious.
- enact
A. NO CHANGE
B. enacts
C. enacted
D. have enacted
The answer is B. Had the subject of this verb been “the prince and the magistrate,” there would have been a compound subject, and “enact” would have been a strong answer since it is a plural verb. But by saying “the prince or magistrate,” Montesquieu is speaking grammatically of only one subject, interchangeable between two different people who could fill that role. So “enacts” makes sense; remember that “-s” with verbs actually indicates singularity, not plurality. The choice “have enacted” is plural so can be ruled out. What about “enacted”? That could be either singular or plural, so it might initially seem possible. But subject/verb agreement questions will also test verb tense considerations, and the rest of the paragraph is clearly in the present tense here. Past tense would be out of place.
- enjoyed
A. NO CHANGE
B. enjoys
C. has enjoyed
D. enjoy
The answer is D. A good rule to keep in mind is that the subject of a sentence cannot be located in a prepositional phrase. So although “Europe” is the closest noun to the verb, since it is found after “it” it cannot be the subject. The answer “enjoys”, therefore, is out as is “has enjoyed.”
As in the previous question, the past tense answer can be ruled out as not fitting the context. “Enjoy” makes sense because the subject of the sentence is “kingdoms”, a plural noun.
- feel
A. NO CHANGE
B. feels
C. felt
D. felting
The answer is A. This question is perhaps harder than it first appears, because “people” is a versatile noun that can sometimes appear in the singular–for example, one might say about a nation, “This is a determined people,” considering it as one singular group. But those instances are rare and, if there is an option to treat “people” as a plural idea and the context seems to allow it, that is the more natural use. So “feel” is best; remember that “feels” is singular here, despite having the “-s” at the end, which would make it plural if it was a noun. “Felt” is a past tense so that can be ruled out again, while “felting” is a made-up form used as a distractor (unless we’re talking about “felting” a pool table, which would seem out of place in an essay by Montesquieu!.
- are
A. NO CHANGE
B. aren’t
C. is
D. was
The answer is C. We have the prepositional phrase rule again: although “powers” is immediately next to the verb, it is on the subject because it is part of the phrase “on the legislative powers.” What is the subject then? In this case, it is the pronoun “whatever”. Words like this can be the subject, as in the sentence, “Whatever I do, I do with all might heart.” “Whatever” stands in for something like “all the possible things that could be mentioned” and corresponds to the predicate description “better regulated.” All the things Montesquieu that depend on the legislature are “better regulated by many than by a single person.” But while “all the things” is clearly a plural idea, “whatever” is grammatically singular. So we have to find the singular options “is” and “was” and, once again, rule out “was” because the author is still speaking in the present tense.
- become
A. NO CHANGE
B. becoming
C. became
D. becomes
The answer is D. “Government” can be a tricky subject to evaluate because any government is made up of many parts. But it is what’s known as a collective singular word, like “group”, “school”, or “council”. All of these ideas have many people in them but, taken together, are considered singular for grammar purposes. So we can rule out the plural verb “become” (not to mention “becoming”, which would prevent a complete sense from forming here). One final time, the past tense is ruled out, and “becomes” is the winner as a present tense, singular form.
For Reflection
- Rate the difficulty of CLT Subject/Verb Agreement questions for you from 1 (no problem) to 5 (problem!). This will help you decide how much time to spend preparing for this passage.
- Are there words that you find confusing to identify whether they are singular or plural? Look out for these sorts of words as you read in general, making special note of them.
- Do you need to add anything to your grammar flashcards from this lesson–perhaps the rule about prepositional phrases never containing a sentence’s subject?
