Subject-verb agreement errors are one of the most commonly tested errors on the SAT Writing test. Although subject-verb agreement is a basic, fundamental concept, questions that test it aren’t always easy. Sometimes, in fact, the most difficult question on the SAT Writing test is a subject-verb agreement question. In this article, I’ll describe the 5 structures the SAT uses to separate subjects from their verbs and how you can learn to spot the errors in them.
What’s a subject?
A subject in grammar isn’t just what the sentence is “about.” Rather, it’s the person, thing, or concept that’s performing the action of the main verb. In other words, a subject’s what’s doing the verb. In the sentence “The meeting between my counselor and me went well,” for example, the subject is “meeting”—NOT “my counselor and me.”
What’s a verb?
A verb expresses action. Some of examples of verbs in their infinitive (unconjugated) form include: “to be,” “to speak,” “to run,” “to sleep,” and “to dream.” Depending on whether their subjects are singular or plural, as well as whether or not the action takes place in the past, present, or future, verbs become conjugated (i.e., their form changes). Here are a few conjugations for the subject “I” and the verb “to swim”: “Today, I swim. Yesterday, I swam. Throughout my life, I have swum.”
How does the SAT separate subjects from their verbs?
The SAT is cleverly designed. It knows that you’ll be able to spot a subject-verb error in a sentence like “I is bored” from a mile away. To trick you, they pile on phrases and clauses between subjects and verbs and plant decoy subjects to distract you from the true subject and its true verb. Here are 5 structures the SAT employs, along with examples for each.
1) Subject, non-essential clause, verb
A non-essential clause is one that’s not necessary to preserve the grammatical integrity of the sentence. Without it, the sentence would still be a sentence. Non-essential clauses are offset by commas and typically begin with words like “which,” “who,” “where,” and “when.” Here’s an example of a Subject, non-essential clause, verb structure that SAT might use:
Gerrymandering, which involves strategically altering the boundaries of congressional districts to ensure the election of favorable candidates, are frequently employed by dishonest politicians.
In this sentence, “Gerrymandering” is the subject, and it’s singular. The non-essential clause from “which” to “candidates” can be trimmed right out of the sentence, revealing the error: “Gerrymandering…are.” Notice how they put a plural word, “candidates,” right before the “are,” in hopes of making you gloss over the error.
2) Subject, appositive, verb
An appositive is similar to a non-essential clause in that it’s also offset by commas, but it begins with either the word “a” or “an.” Appositives function as “definitions,” as we see in the following sentence:
The Simpsons, a show that’s been on FOX for years, are still popular with audiences today.
Here, the subject is “The Simpsons”—which is singular. The last word of the show’s title, “Simpsons,” is plural, but the show itself is singular. The appositive, “a show that’s been on FOX for years,” can be trimmed right out of the sentence, revealing the error: “The Simpsons…are.” Since we’re talking about the show rather than the people, “are” should be changed to “is.”
3) Subject essential clause verb
An essential clause typically uses the word “that” and gets no commas. Because they contain important information, essential clauses are integral to the meaning of their sentences:
Dogs that misbehave after careful training disappoints their owners.
Here, when we remove the essential clause “that misbehave after careful training,” we’re left with the error: “Dogs…disappoints.” “Disappoints” should be changed to “disappoint.” Notice that after we trimmed the essential clause, we lost some important information!
4) Subject prepositional phrase verb
A preposition is a word that indicates position or location. Examples of prepositions include “aboard,” “about,” “above,” “among,” “beyond,” “between,” “in,” and “of”—you should learn to recognize them! A prepositional phrase includes a preposition and what’s called the “object of the preposition” (where the person or thing is located). Examples of prepositional phrases include “of the forest,” “among the elves,” “in the trash,” and “above the house.”
The SAT likes to place several prepositional phrases between subjects and verbs in hopes that you’ll gloss over a subject-verb disagreement. Check out the following sentence:
Suggestions to speed up the process of booking hotel rooms in New York City’s Times Square has been made.
Look at all those prepositional phrases! Cut them out to reveal “Suggestions…has been made.” Of course, “has” should change to “have,” because “suggestions” is plural.
5) Prepositional phrase verb subject
Now we’ve come to the trickiest structure of all: the prepositional phrase verb subject structure. These inverted structures, or “Yoda” structures, flip the normal structure around entirely. Difficult are they. See if you can spot the error:
Through the city of Austin runs the beautiful Colorado River and the equally magnificent Barton Creek.
What’s the subject? Two things: the river and the creek. Trim the adjectives and prepositional phrases out of the sentence and flip it around and you’ve got “The…River and the…Creek runs”—which, of course, should be changed to “run.”
When you encounter a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence, be on guard! Find the true subject, note whether or not it’s singular or plural, and examine the verb. When in doubt, flip the sentence around.
Hopefully this guide proves helpful to you! Remember, the first thing to do on an SAT Writing question is to circle the subject, underline the verb, and make sure they agree!
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