5.2 Subject-Verb Agreement in Report Writing

The Core Rule: Matching Subject and Verb

Subject-verb agreement is the single most frequently tested grammar error on the SSPO's four-sentence choose-the-correct format, and the underlying rule is simple to state even though applying it under time pressure is not always simple: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. 'The officer writes a report' pairs a singular subject with a singular verb; 'The officers write a report' pairs a plural subject with a plural verb. Where this gets genuinely difficult - and where test writers build their distractor sentences - is when the subject and verb are not sitting next to each other, or when the subject itself is harder to classify as singular or plural than it first appears.

Compound Subjects Joined by 'And'

When two or more subjects are joined by 'and,' they generally form a compound subject that takes a plural verb, even if each individual subject is singular: 'The officer and the witness agree on the sequence of events' - not 'agrees.' This holds regardless of how far apart the two nouns describing the subject are placed in a sentence, and it is a common trap in report writing when officers list several people, units, or pieces of evidence in a single sentence: 'The K-9 unit and the responding patrol car were dispatched simultaneously,' not 'was dispatched.'

Compound Subjects Joined by 'Or' / 'Nor'

Subjects joined by 'or' or 'nor' behave differently from those joined by 'and': the verb agrees with whichever subject is closer to it, not with the compound as a whole. 'Neither the suspect nor the witnesses were present at the follow-up interview' pairs the plural verb 'were' with the nearer plural subject 'witnesses,' while 'Neither the witnesses nor the suspect was present' pairs the singular verb 'was' with the nearer singular subject 'suspect.' Both sentences are grammatically correct; the difference is entirely about which noun sits closest to the verb.

Intervening Phrases Don't Change the Subject

The most common way this error is built into a grammar item is by inserting a prepositional or descriptive phrase between the true subject and its verb, hoping you will mistakenly match the verb to the noun inside that phrase instead of to the real subject. 'The officer, along with two backup units, arrived at the scene' keeps the singular verb 'arrived' because the true subject is 'officer' - singular - and 'along with two backup units' is a parenthetical phrase, not part of a compound subject. Phrases beginning with along with, as well as, in addition to, and together with never make a subject plural; only 'and' does that.

Indefinite Pronouns and Collective Nouns

Certain subjects are consistently singular in form even though they can describe more than one person or thing. Words like each, everyone, everybody, anyone, no one, nobody, and someone are always treated as singular subjects: 'Each of the witnesses gives a slightly different account,' not 'give.' Collective nouns - words like department, jury, team, or unit that describe a single group acting as one unit - are also typically treated as singular: 'The department maintains its own evidence log,' not 'maintain.' Only when a collective noun's members are clearly acting as separate individuals does it sometimes take a plural verb, but on report-writing grammar items, treat collective nouns as singular unless the sentence gives you a strong reason not to.

Inverted Sentences: 'There Is' and 'There Are'

When a sentence begins with 'there' followed by a form of 'to be,' the verb still has to agree with the subject that follows it, even though the subject now comes after the verb instead of before it. 'There is a broken window on the north side of the building' uses the singular verb 'is' because the subject 'window' is singular; 'There are two broken windows on the north side of the building' uses the plural verb 'are' because the subject 'windows' is plural. A common error pattern swaps this, writing 'there is two witnesses' or 'there was several vehicles involved,' mismatching a singular verb form to a plural subject that simply happens to follow it instead of precede it.

Correct vs. Incorrect Report Sentences

Applying This on the Exam

When you scan a four-option grammar item, subject-verb agreement errors are usually easiest to catch by first identifying the true subject of each sentence - ignoring any phrase set off by commas or introduced by along with, as well as, or a similar connector - and then checking whether the verb matches that subject in number. If a sentence has a long or unusual structure, try mentally deleting every phrase between the subject and the verb; whatever is left should still make grammatical sense with the verb in place. If it does not, you have found your error. This single technique, applied consistently, resolves the large majority of subject-verb agreement items you will see on test day, regardless of how unfamiliar or scenario-specific the surrounding sentence looks.