Subject/verb agreement on the SAT 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 SAT 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!
A team of marine biologists recently studied octopuses living in underwater dens made from discarded coconut shells. The behavior was surprising, as it suggested the animals were using tools. Videos from the study show the octopi carrying shells across the seafloor. This kind of behavior ______ our understanding of intelligence in invertebrates.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. challenge
B. challenges
C. have challenged
D. are challenging
This question represents the majority of SAT Subject/Verb Agreement questions in two primary ways: the use of a subject phrase (“this kind of behavior”) and the fundamental commonality in number (singular/plural) in the three wrong answer choices. The use of an entire phrase as the subject, instead of a single noun (as in “the students are reading …”) can make it more difficult to identify whether a single or plural is necessary. For example, if the subject is “a collection of items,” it appears that the verb should be plural because there are many items present, but grammatically, the subject is singular, because “collection” is the grammatical subject.
We don’t have that issue in this case, because both “kind” and “behavior” are singular. It’s worth noting, though, that “kind” is the subject, not “behavior”. Now we can turn to the answer choices, looking for a singular option. As is often the case on the SAT, all three wrong answers are plural: “challenge”, “have challenged,” and “are challenging.” The answer is B.
Two other notes here: 1) as is usually the case, we don’t have to read beyond the sentence with the “blank” in it to answer a Subject/Verb Agreement question. These questions rarely require reading more context than that. 2) Although we did not have to worry about verb tense in this example because only one answer is singular, you may see questions that consider both subject/verb agreement and verb tense.
1. 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)
2. Handle compound subjects carefully.
3. Account for intervening phrases.
4. If the verb comes before the noun, keep reading until you find the noun.
5. Pronouns like “everyone” and “each” are always singular.
6. It’s worth repeating for emphasis: nouns inside a prepositional phrase cannot be the subject.
As you’ll see in the examples below, sometimes this question type also tests verb tense at the same time. Be prepared to see both concepts tested in the same question.
Answer this: What does the letter K in the QUICKER method stand for?
KNOCK OUT the answer choices that don’t work.
:Several of the early science fiction novels imagined futures with flying cars and underwater cities. Some of these visions came true, but others remain works of fantasy. What unites many of these works is their faith in technological progress. The genre’s early optimism ______ a deep belief in human potential.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. reflect
B. have reflected
C. reflects
D. were reflecting
The answer is C. What is the subject here? It can’t be “genre’s”, because the apostrophe suggests that something belonging to the genre is really the subject. It is simply the closest word, “optimism”. As in the Approach Question, all three wrong answer choices have the wrong grammatical number; they are plural when we need the singular “reflects”. (Remember, as noted in the introduction, that “s” means singular when it comes to verbs, even though it means plural when it comes to nouns.)
On the island of Madagascar, certain species of lemurs are active only during twilight hours. This timing helps them avoid predators that hunt during the day or night. Their adaptations extend beyond sleep schedules and include specialized diets. These crepuscular habits ______ scientists with clues about evolutionary trade-offs.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. provide
B. provides
C. provided
D. providing
The answer is A. Don’t be distracted by the unusual word “crepuscular”! (In case you’re curious, it means “relating to twilight.”) All you need to know is that the subject of the desired verb is “habits”. Since “habits” is plural, we can eliminate “provides” as an answer. But in this case, the other two wrong answers are incorrect for reasons not related to subject/verb agreement. “Provided” doesn’t work because the entire paragraph is in the present tense, while “provided” is past tense. Meanwhile, “providing” can’t work for reasons explored in the lesson on Sentence Structure: an “-ing” verb cannot function as the main verb of the sentence. “Habits provide” sounds correct and matches plural with plural.
In the years following World War II, many cities in Europe launched large-scale rebuilding efforts. Warsaw, nearly destroyed during the war, was reconstructed using a combination of historical records and modern techniques. Today, its Old Town district stands as both a tourist attraction and a testament to resilience. The restoration of its buildings, long awaited by residents and now beloved by tourists, ______ the commitment of residents to preserving their cultural heritage.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. demonstrate
B. demonstrates
C. have demonstrated
D. demonstrating
The answer is B. As Subject/Verb Agreement questions get harder, the SAT will add intervening phrases and clauses to remove the subject further from the verb. We know from our lesson on punctuation that, according to the Handlebar Rule, a phrase surrounded by commas can be removed from the sentence without changing the basic grammar of the sentence. This is good news here because it means we can ignore the phrase “long-awaited… tourists”. Imagine crossing out that phrase if you encountered this on paper. That action would send you back further in the sentence, looking for nouns that could be the subject.
When you do that, you encounter “buildings” and “restoration”. “Buildings” can’t be the subject because it lives within a prepositional phrase. So we go all the way back to “restoration”, a singular subject. This helps us rule out the plural “demonstrate” and “have demonstrated”. “Demonstrating” can’t work as an “-ing” form; we need a main verb. The subject-verb structure of the sentence is, “The restoration demonstrates.”
Each of the artist’s new installations features a unique blend of sculpture, sound, and interactive technology. Viewers are encouraged to explore the exhibit by walking through and even triggering sensory changes. Although the components may appear simple at first, the underlying structure and embedded programming ______ highly complex.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. is
B. has been
C. was
D. are
The answer is D. Compound subjects occur when two subjects are connected by an “and”. This makes a question more challenging, because although the words “structure” and “programming” are both singular, their combination as a compound subject makes the subject plural. Therefore, we must go with “are” as the answer rather than all three singular answers.
A series of mysterious sounds recorded in the Pacific Ocean has puzzled scientists for years. Some suggest the noises come from underwater volcanic activity, while others believe they may be biological in origin. These low-frequency hums have even been detected by deep-sea exploration robots. This series of unexplained events (a puzzle even the most modern technologies have failed to resolve) ______ the subject of recent documentaries.
Which text completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
A. have become
B. has become
C. become
D. were becoming
The answer is B. This is the hardest question in the lesson because it both 1) separates the subject from the verb by an entire clause in parentheses and 2) uses a prepositional phrase (“of unexplained events”) that could make it seem as if “events” is the subject. However, using the principles already presented in this lesson, we can ignore both the parenthetical clause and the prepositional phrase, making our way back to the beginning of the sentence and identifying the subject as “series”. Although “series” can be a plural word, the adjective “this” tells us that here it must be singular. There is only one singular answer, so we are done.
In closing, notice a strategy you can apply on the SAT: if three answer choices are plural and only one is singular (or vice versa), you can eliminate the three that are similar! We still recommend actually reading the paragraph and determining what verb fits best, but this is a nice backup strategy to have at your disposal.
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