3.1 Subject-Verb Agreement

3.1 Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is among the most frequently tested concepts on the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators: Writing (5723) exam. At its foundation, the grammatical rule is straightforward: a singular subject requires a singular finite verb, and a plural subject requires a plural finite verb. In standard written English, present tense singular verbs typically end in -s or -es (such as writes, evaluates, revises), whereas plural present tense verbs take the base form without an -s ending (such as write, evaluate, revise).

Despite this simple mechanical principle, test questions rarely present short, uncomplicated sentences like "The student writes an essay." Instead, the Praxis exam deliberately obscures the grammatical subject by inserting complex descriptive modifiers, placing singular pronouns before plural nouns, reversing standard word order, or employing deceptive conjunctions. To succeed, you must systematically isolate the grammatical core of the sentence and ignore non-essential phrasing.

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The Core Agreement Rule: Finding the Simple Subject

The fundamental key to mastering agreement questions is distinguishing the simple subject—the bare noun or pronoun that performs or receives the action—from the complete subject, which includes all modifying phrases and clauses attached to that noun.

Consider this illustrative sentence:

• Sentence: "The rigorous academic curriculum designed by district curriculum specialists, veteran classroom teachers, and university literacy professors challenges incoming freshmen."
• Analysis: The simple subject is the singular noun curriculum. The lengthy participial phrase ("designed by district curriculum specialists, veteran classroom teachers, and university literacy professors") contains three plural nouns ("specialists", "teachers", "professors"). However, none of these nouns governs the verb. The singular subject curriculum demands the singular verb challenges, not the plural verb challenge.

When evaluating a sentence on the test, visually or mentally bracket off modifying phrases to isolate the simple subject and test its agreement directly with the verb.

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Trap 1: Intervening Prepositional and Parenthetical Phrases

The most pervasive trap on the Praxis Core Writing test involves words that come between the subject and the verb. These intervening elements fall into two major categories:

1. Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (of, in, to, for, with, on, at, from, by, about) and ends with an object of the preposition (a noun or pronoun). A noun inside an intervening prepositional phrase is not the subject controlling this verb.

• Incorrect: "The box of colored pencils and markers are stored on the shelf."
• Correct: "The box [of colored pencils and markers] is stored on the shelf."
• Explanation: The subject is the singular noun box. The plural nouns pencils and markers are objects of the preposition of and have zero impact on verb number.

2. Parenthetical and Additive Expressions

Phrases introduced by additive prepositions or parenthetical markers look like conjunctions, but grammatically they do not combine subjects. Common additive markers include:

• along with
• as well as
• in addition to
• accompanied by
• together with
• including

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Trap 2: Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific persons, places, or things. On the Praxis exam, indefinite pronouns are divided into three distinct grammatical groups based on how they govern verbs:

Group 1: Always Singular

These pronouns are grammatically singular under all conditions, even when followed by a prepositional phrase containing a plural noun:

• each, either, neither, one
• everyone, everybody, everything
• someone, somebody, something
• anyone, anybody, anything
• no one, nobody, nothing

Many candidates make errors when these pronouns are followed by prepositional phrases containing plural objects:

• Incorrect: "Each of the newly certified instructors have completed the orientation."
• Correct: "Each [of the newly certified instructors] has completed the orientation."
• Incorrect: "Neither of the proposed bell schedules satisfy the union contract."
• Correct: "Neither [of the proposed bell schedules] satisfies the union contract."

Group 2: Always Plural

These pronouns consistently represent multiple entities and always take plural verbs:

• both, few, many, several, others
• Example: "Several of the faculty members were recognized for excellence in instructional leadership."

Group 3: Variable Indefinite Pronouns (The SANAM Rule)

Five common indefinite pronouns change their number depending on the noun to which they refer. Remember them using the acronym SANAM:

• S — Some
• A — Any
• N — None
• A — All
• M — Most

For SANAM pronouns, you must look at the object of the preposition following the pronoun to determine whether the subject is countable (plural) or uncountable (singular):

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Trap 3: Compound Subjects—"And" vs. "Or / Nor"

Compound subjects consist of two or more nouns or pronouns linked by conjunctions. How they are linked dictates the verb form:

1. Subjects Joined by "And"

When two or more subjects are connected by the coordinating conjunction and, they form a compound subject that takes a plural verb:

• Example: "The reading specialist and the speech therapist collaborate on student intervention plans."
• Exception: When the two nouns joined by and represent a single recognized unit, dish, or single person with dual roles, a singular verb is required: "Peanut butter and jelly is a popular lunch option"; "Our faculty advisor and mentor has arrived." (referring to one individual holding both titles).

2. Subjects Joined by "Or", "Nor", or Correlative Pairs

When subjects are connected by or, nor, either...or, or neither...nor, they are disjunctive. The verb does not automatically become plural. Instead, standard written English follows the Rule of Proximity: the verb agrees with whichever subject is physically closer to the verb.

• Closer subject is singular: "Neither the senior administrators nor the superintendent was available for comment."
  • Analysis: "Superintendent" is singular and sits immediately adjacent to the verb, so the singular verb was is required.
• Closer subject is plural: "Neither the superintendent nor the senior administrators were available for comment."
  • Analysis: "Senior administrators" is plural and sits adjacent to the verb, so the plural verb were is required.

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Trap 4: Collective Nouns (Unit vs. Individuals)

Collective nouns denote a collection of persons or things: committee, jury, faculty, team, staff, board, audience, class, family, herd.

1. Acting as a Single Cohesive Unit (Singular Verb): In nearly all Praxis test items, collective nouns act as a single unified body performing one collective action. In formal American English, they take singular verbs:

   • Example: "The disciplinary committee has issued its annual recommendations."
   • Example: "The school faculty votes on the revised grading policy this afternoon."

2. Acting as Distinct Individuals (Plural Verb): If the context explicitly emphasizes the individual members acting independently or in disagreement, the collective noun takes a plural verb:

   • Example: "The jury were arguing among themselves regarding the credibility of the witness testimony."
   • Test Tip: ETS rarely tests the plural collective construction because writers generally prefer to recast such sentences ("The members of the jury were arguing...") to avoid awkward phrasing.

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Trap 5: Inverted Sentences and Expletive Constructions

Standard English sentences follow Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. In inverted sentences, the verb precedes the grammatical subject. Candidates often mistakenly treat whatever word appears at the start of the sentence as the subject.

1. Expletive Constructions ("There is / are" and "Here is / are")

The words there and here are introductory adverbs (expletives), never grammatical subjects. The true subject follows the verb:

• Incorrect: "There is three primary reasons for the decline in school attendance."
• Correct: "There are three primary reasons [subject] for the decline in school attendance."
• Correct: "Here is the comprehensive guide [subject] requested by the department."

2. Inverted Prepositional Phrases Opening a Clause

When an adverbial prepositional phrase opens a sentence to describe a location or condition, the verb often precedes the subject:

• Incorrect: "Across the central university quadrangle walks several prospective transfer students."
• Correct: "Across the central university quadrangle walk several prospective transfer students [subject]."
• Explanation: The subject is students (plural), not quadrangle (the object of the preposition across). The plural verb walk is required.

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Trap 6: Plural-Form Nouns with Singular Meaning

Certain nouns end in -s but represent a singular academic discipline, illness, abstract concept, or title. These take singular verbs:

• Academic disciplines: mathematics, economics, physics, civics, ethics, linguistics, statistics (as a field of study).
  • Correct: "Economics is an essential prerequisite for high school social studies teachers."
  • Note on statistics/data: When statistics refers to raw numerical figures, it is plural: "The latest graduation statistics indicate an upward trend."
• Diseases: measles, mumps, rickets ("Measles is preventable through vaccination.").
• Quantities of time, money, and measurement: Units considered as a single collective sum take singular verbs:
  • Correct: "Three years of supervised teaching experience is required for permanent state licensure."
  • Correct: "Ten dollars is the standard admission fee for the school musical."
• Titles of works: The title of a single book, poem, play, or film takes a singular verb, even if plural in form:
  • Correct: "Great Expectations remains a cornerstone of the secondary English literature curriculum."

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Strategic Praxis Core Checklist for Agreement Questions

When confronting a sentence error or revision question testing agreement, execute this 4-step sequence:

1. Locate the finite verb: Identify the action or state of being that carries tense.
2. Strip away modifying clutter: Bracket off prepositional phrases, parenthetical clauses (as well as, along with), and non-essential relative clauses (who..., which...).
3. Identify the simple grammatical subject: Check whether the remaining head noun is singular or plural.
4. Apply specialized rules: If the subject involves an indefinite pronoun (each, none), compound conjunction (and, neither...nor), or inverted syntax (there are), apply the specific proximity or classification rule to verify verb number.

The Special Case of None

With a mass noun, singular agreement is natural: “None of the equipment is available.” With a plural count noun, standard usage permits either “None of the students is absent” (emphasizing not one) or “None of the students are absent” (emphasizing not any). Do not call one an error solely because none appears. In a multiple-choice item, use the complete context and look for a genuinely incompatible subject and verb, such as “Each student are ready.”