Maintain subject–verb agreement (including with intervening phrases/clauses).
Match the verb to the true subject, not the nearest noun.
Core Idea
The verb must agree with the actual subject — not with the nearest noun. The SAT makes this tricky by wedging prepositional phrases, relative clauses, or appositives between the subject and verb.
Understanding
Subject-verb agreement is simple in principle: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Where students go wrong is identifying the true subject.
The SAT's favorite trick is placing a phrase between the subject and verb that contains a noun of a different number:
The collection of rare stamps is valuable.
"Collection" is singular. "Stamps" is plural, but it's inside a prepositional phrase — it's not the subject. The verb must be "is," not "are."
Common patterns that create confusion:
- Prepositional phrases: "of the students," "among the candidates," "in addition to the reports"
- Relative clauses: "who studied abroad" tucked between subject and verb
- Appositives: "the director, along with her assistants, plans..." ("along with her assistants" doesn't change the singular subject)
The fix is mechanical: cross out everything between the subject and verb, then check if they match.
Step by Step
- Find the main verb in the sentence.
- Ask: who or what performs this action? That's your subject.
- Mentally cross out any phrases between the subject and verb — prepositional phrases, relative clauses, parenthetical asides.
- Check: does the stripped-down subject-verb pair agree in number?
- Pick the answer choice that makes them match.
Misconceptions
- Thinking the noun closest to the verb must be the subject — it's often just part of an intervening phrase.
- Treating phrases like "along with," "as well as," or "in addition to" as if they make a singular subject plural. They don't — only "and" creates a compound subject.
- Assuming collective nouns (team, committee, group) are always plural. In standard American English (which the SAT uses), they're typically singular.
Worked Example
The analysis of the survey results, which were collected from participants across twelve different regions, __________ that public opinion on the issue has shifted dramatically over the past decade.
Select an answer to see the explanation