Subject - Verb Agreement (SC)

Question 1

A Sentence must contain - (2)

Answer 1

1) A Finite Verb - the main verb of the sentence that answers the question “When did the action take place”
2) A Subject - The main noun which is either performing the action or being what the main verb expresses

Question 2

The process to identify the Subject and verb.

Answer 2

1) First, identify the action or main verb of the clause i.e action which expresses the purpose behind writing the sentence.
2) Identify the noun that is doing the action or the noun which is being what the main verb expresses
i. e The sailboats were rocked by the waves

Question 3

Cross out technique?

Answer 3

To check for subject-verb agreement cross out prepositional phrases, appositives, or any other information that lies between the subject and its verb and then read them together to check agreement.

Question 4

Compound Subject

Answer 4

A subject that is formed by joining multiple nouns with a coordinating conjunction such as “And”, “or” they can be either singular or plural.

Question 5

Compound Subject “AND”, singular or plural, an exception?

Answer 5

When a subject is formed by joining multiple singular or plural nouns with the conjunction “AND”, the subject is Plural unless the two nouns that it joins are considered to be a single identity i.e “Bed and Breakfast”

Question 6

Compound Subject “OR”, “NOR”, “Either…OR”, Neither…Nor” singular or plural

Answer 6

The noun of the subject closest to the verb will determine whether the verb will be singular or plural
i.e-
Neither the bread nor Potatoes Look very appealing
Neither the potatoes nor Bread Looks very appealing

Question 7

Additive Phrase

Answer 7

Phrases that add to or modify the subject but do not in any way affect the singular or plural nature of the subject.

They begin with - “Along With”, “As Well As”, “In Addition To”, “Including”, “Accompanied By”, “Together With”.

Singular subjects followed by an additive phrase will take a singular verb even if the phrase contains the conjunction “And”.

Question 8

Appositives

Answer 8

An Appositive is a descriptive element of a sentence that the GMAT places after a subject to distance it from its Verb. Cross of the appositive and check the subject with its verb.

Type 2 diabetes, A condition thought to result from form XYZ, IS…. i.e type 2 diabetes => is

Question 9

Relative Clause

Answer 9

Clauses that begin with relative pronouns “That”, “Which”, “When”, “Where”, “Who”, “Whom”, usually placed between the subject and its verb to distance the two. Cross of the Relative Clause and check the subject with its verb.

These clauses usually describe or modify the subject in some way i.e The HORSE, that has long legs, IS…
The horse => Is, not Legs => Are

Question 10

Inverted Sentences

Answer 10

The Verb comes before the Subject. Usually, begin with “Here” or “There”

eg- There GO THE LADIES of the church, visiting sick people.

The ladies => go

Question 11

Collective Nouns Singular or Plural?

Answer 11

Singular when they are the subject of the sentence and perform an action or the main verb as a unit or a group.

When the members of the group are not performing the action as a unit i.e different people are doing different things then they take a plural verb.

Question 12

Majority Or Minority, Singular or Plural?

Answer 12

Singular when they are the subject of the sentence and perform an action or the main verb as a unit or a group.

When the members of the group are not performing the action as a unit i.e different people are doing different things then they take a plural verb.

This can be tricky hence if in the grey area look for another decision point

Question 13

Subjects beginning with Each, Every, Many a, Many an, Singular or Plural?

Answer 13

The subject always takes a Singular verb because it refers to a singular individual i.e

Every Guy at the prom looks amazing

Every Guy => looks i.e each individual guy at the prom looks amazing

Question 14

Singular Indefinite Pronouns, exception

Answer 14

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to one thing, in particular, the singular ones are A N E S - B O T
Any, No, Every, Some - One, Body, Thing

Gmat will generally follow them by a prepositional phrase that ends in a plural noun to make you think that the verb should be plural.

Note - When pared with “OR”, “NOR” the verb must agree with the noun closest to them.

Question 15

Plural Indefinite Pronouns

Answer 15

B F S M - Both, Few Several, Many these pronouns will always take plural verbs.

Question 16

Flexible Indefinite Pronouns

Answer 16

S A N A M M - Some, Any, None, All, More, Most.

If they refer to a Singular noun they are Singular

If they refer to a Plural noun They are Plural.

Question 17

A Number Of… Singular or Plural?

Answer 17

When the subject is - A number of + plural noun and it refers to group like a collective noun it takes a plural verb.

eg - A number of students have applied for a summer internship.

Question 18

The Number Of… Singular or Plural?

Answer 18

When the subject is - The number of + plural noun it generally refers to a specific number and hence it will take a singular verb.

eg- The number of students, who apply for summer jobs, has been increasing.

i.e the number => has been

Question 19

The Percentage Of… Singular or Plural?

Answer 19

When the subject is - The Percentage of + plural noun it generally refers to a specific Percentage and hence it will take a singular verb.

eg- The percentage of people in America, who are overweight, is Astounding.

i.e the Percentage => is and People are

Question 20

A Percentage Of… Singular or Plural?

Answer 20

When the subject is - A Percentage of XYZ… the subject will be singular or plural depending on whether the percentage refers to a singular or plural noun.

i.e - A small percentage of participants were disqualified. (Plural participants => - were)

A larger percentage of the food served is locally sourced. (Singular food => is)

Question 21

Subjects that begin with a fraction (Half / Quarter) … Singular or Plural?

Answer 21

When the subject is - A fraction (Half / Quarter) of XYZ… the subject will be singular or plural depending on whether the fraction refers to a singular or plural noun.

i.e - Half of the effort is wasted. (Singular effort => Is)

Eg - A Quater of the bottles are empty (Plural bottles => Are)

Question 22

Relative Pronouns, Singular or Plural?

Answer 22

Relative Pronouns such as Who, that, Which are singular if they refer to a singular noun and plural if they refer to a plural noun

Question 23

Non-traditional Subjects, Singular or Plural?

Answer 23

Non-traditional Subjects like Infinitives, Gerunds, Noun Phrases/ Noun Clauses are always singular.

Question 24

Politic, Singular or Plural?

Answer 24

A branch of study like Mathematics, Ethics, Politics etc is always singular even though they end in “s” however if politics were to refer to a set of beliefs or things then it would be plural.

Question 25

Media, Data, News Singular, or Plural?

Answer 25

Media is generally plural with medium being its singular form however in case it refers to the news media like a collective noun then it is singular.

Data is generally plural with Datum being its singular form however it could some times be considered singular also.

News is singular even though it ends with an S.

Question 26

Alumnus, Fungus, Nucleus, Syllabus, Singular, or Plural?

Answer 26

All singular their plural forms are as follows 
Alumnus => Alumni
Fungus => Fungi
Nucleus => Nuclei
Syllabus => Syllabi

Question 27

Criteria, Phenomena, Singular, or Plural?

Answer 27

Both plural their singular forms are as follows
Criteria => Criterion
Phenomena => Phenomenon