This problem occurs in two ways: interrupt sentences and reverse sentences where the subject follows the verb. In the sentence, what is less fun? The consequences. Therefore, “consequences” is the subject that corresponds to the verb. There is an error in the subject-verb correspondence. The sentence should read like this: A gerund is a verb that is used as a noun and ends with “ing”. If a gerund is used as a subject, then the subject is singular. Look at this example: you know how to conjugate the verb so that it corresponds to the subject in foreign languages? We have the same thing in English, and it can get tricky, although simple cases seem so natural and obvious to us: in present and present perfect verbal forms, the third-person verb forms of the singular end with an “s”. Third-person verb forms of the plural do not. All other response options are incorrect because they contain a subject-verb-number match error. They use plural verb forms when they should use singular verb forms instead. The sentence in bold is a non-essential sentence.

It is separated by commas and the deletion of the clause does not produce an error or change the meaning of the sentence. The term is used only to provide descriptive information about the subject. See: On the SAT, prepositional sentences are often inserted between subjects and verbs to make errors in the subject-verb correspondence less noticeable. Look at this misspelled sentence with a prepositional sentence underlined: here we need to understand the subjects of two verbs. Cross out the prepositional sentences and the relative clause: Again, note how the SAT can fool you by placing a singular noun, SAT, right in front of the verb “is”. If you go by ear, you will probably fall victim to this trap. A non-essential sentence often begins with a relative pronoun (who, who, who, or where), but not in a sentence known as an appositive. An appositive works as a non-essential clause, but it has no verb. Here`s an example: It can be helpful to know the common tricks the SAT uses for questions that test your knowledge of subject-verb correspondence. The better you know these tricks, the faster you can identify them and correctly answer questions about subject-verb correspondence. In addition, on the SAT, there will often be a plural noun in the non-essential clause placed right next to the verb in such a sentence. Many candidates will mistakenly assume that “students” is the topic, especially if you read the question quickly in one go.

Here`s the corrected version of the above sentence: If you`re ever not sure if a verb like Show is singular or plural, test it by putting it with it in front of you and then wondering what sounds the most accurate: There`s a subject-verb match problem here. The subject is the “number”, which is singular. The verb “are” does not correspond to “number” because it is plural. We have to say, “Number. is”. In a sentence where there is a description, usually with a form of the verb “to be”, the subject is the noun that is described. Consider this beautifully written sentence: The choice of the answer “the distance between the sun and the planets varies over time” is correct. It correctly uses a singular verb – “varies” – to match the singular subject “distance”. These last three examples show that the subject can appear after the verb, which the SAT likes to do to stumble students. I hope that at this point you fully understand the subject-verb match and that you know how to correctly answer any subject-verb match questions that may appear on the SAT.

I`ve created a few practice problems to test you for what you`ve learned. Don`t forget to use the general strategies I mentioned above. The subject is both time and place. Therefore, the verb must be in the plural. In addition, there is an additional error in the sentence that “for approval” should be “for approval”. The correct answer is C. Another question variant you can see is one where the verb is in a sentence or clause that you would normally cross out. For example, the subject in the above sentence is “Turner” because they do the performance. “Turner” is plural, so the verb must be plural. However, “executed” is singular.

Here`s the corrected sentence: So if the rule is so simple, how do test writers write down their questions so that at least a few candidates choose the wrong answer? They make their questions more difficult by inserting prepositional sentences between the subject and the verb and hiding the real subject. Don`t fall into their trap! Just skip the prepositional sentence, identify the right topic, and make sure it matches the verb. Always cross out appositive and non-essential clauses for these types of questions. This makes it easier to identify subject-verb match problems. The resulting sentence must be grammatically correct. Let`s do it with the misspelled version of our previous example: Now that we`ve looked at different types of subject-verb matching questions, let`s go over the strategies you can use on your SAT to see if you encounter a subject-verb matching question and make sure you answer the question correctly. Cross out the prepositional sentence and the resulting sentence must be grammatically correct. It also makes it easier for you to identify the subject and make sure the subject and verb match. The subject will never be contained in a prepositional sentence.

Let`s use the strikethrough method with the misspelled sentence above: Interrupted sentences aren`t the only tactic the SAT uses to complicate subject-verb matching issues. Now, it`s easy to see that mastery is the main theme of the sentence. Mastery is singular, so we need the required singular verb. After all, it`s the championship that takes a lot of time. But let us go back to the first verb crossed out in the relative clause and ask ourselves what this relative clause describes. What really surprises the audience? Magic! Magic tricks are plural, so we need the plural verb surprise. .