5.3 Subject-Verb Agreement

The Basic Rule

Subject-verb agreement means the verb must match its subject in number: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. In the present simple, this shows up as the familiar -s ending: The student writes (singular) versus The students write (plural). STEP rarely tests the basic rule in isolation — real items almost always bury the true subject behind a distraction, or use a subject whose number is not obvious from its form. The rest of this section works through each distraction pattern STEP relies on.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns (team, committee, family, staff, government, jury, audience) refer to a group but are grammatically treated as a single unit in standard American-style usage, so they normally take a singular verb: The committee has decided, The team is practicing, The family lives nearby. This differs from British usage, which more often allows a plural verb when a group's individual members are emphasized (The team are arguing among themselves) — but STEP follows the singular convention, so treat a collective noun as singular by default.

Indefinite Pronouns

A set of indefinite pronouns is grammatically singular even though their meaning can feel plural: each, every, either, neither, everyone, everybody, everything, someone, somebody, something, anyone, anybody, anything, no one, nobody, nothing. These all pair with a singular verb: Each of the applicants has submitted a form, Neither of the options is ideal, Everyone in the department agrees. The word of plus a plural noun immediately after the pronoun (as in each of the applicants) is a common distraction — the true subject is still the singular pronoun each, not the plural noun that follows of.

Subjects Joined by And, Or, and Nor

Two rules govern compound subjects:

• And usually creates a plural subject, requiring a plural verb: The manager and the supervisor were present at the review. (Exception: when the two nouns joined by and describe a single combined idea, such as Bread and butter is my favorite breakfast, the verb is singular — but this pattern is uncommon on STEP.)
• Or and nor do not add the subjects together. Instead, the verb agrees with whichever subject is closer to the verb: Neither the manager nor the employees were aware of the change (verb agrees with the plural employees); Neither the employees nor the manager was aware of the change (verb agrees with the singular manager). This closer-subject-wins rule is one of the most heavily tested STEP patterns, because it produces a different correct answer depending on the order the two subjects appear in.

Intervening Phrases That Disguise the True Subject

The single most common STEP agreement trap is a prepositional phrase or descriptive insert placed between the subject and the verb, which tempts the reader to agree the verb with the noun closest to it rather than with the true subject. Compare:

• The list of items is on the desk. (subject = list, singular; of items is a prepositional phrase, not part of the subject)
• The findings of the report are significant. (subject = findings, plural)
• The box, along with several smaller packages, was delivered this morning. (subject = box, singular; along with several smaller packages is a parenthetical phrase that does not change the verb, even though it names additional, plural items)

Expressions like along with, as well as, together with, in addition to, and accompanied by behave the same way: they add descriptive information but do not turn a singular subject into a plural one for agreement purposes. To find the true subject, mentally delete everything between the subject noun and the verb, then check whether what remains still makes grammatical sense.

A Reliable Checking Method

For any subject-verb agreement item on STEP, work through these steps:

1. Locate the verb, then ask what is doing this action.
2. Strip out prepositional phrases and parenthetical inserts — anything starting with of, along with, as well as, in addition to, together with — to expose the bare subject.
3. Check whether the bare subject is a collective noun or an indefinite pronoun; both typically take a singular verb.
4. If the subject is compound, determine whether it is joined by and (usually plural) or by or/nor (agree with the nearer element).
5. Match the verb's form to the number you found in steps 3 and 4, not to any noun that merely sits near the verb.

Mastering this five-step check converts subject-verb agreement from a guessing game into a mechanical, reliable process — exactly what a timed, 30-item Grammar section rewards.