Subject-verb agreement on ACT English: matching a verb to its true subject in number, ignoring prepositional phrases and other words between subject and verb, and handling tricky subjects (indefinite pronouns, compound subjects, collective nouns, and inverted there-is and here-are structures).

What this skill is asking

A verb must agree with its subject in number: a singular subject takes a singular verb, a plural subject a plural verb. That sounds easy, but the ACT makes it hard by hiding the true subject, usually by inserting a phrase between the subject and the verb so a nearby noun tempts you into the wrong agreement. The skill is finding the true subject, ignoring the distractions, and matching the verb to it.

Find the true subject, ignore the rest

The single most useful move is to strip away what sits between the subject and the verb.

Prepositional phrases that cause this trap begin with words like of, in, with, along with, as well as, and together with. Crucially, "along with the manager" and "as well as the staff" do not make a singular subject plural: "The owner, along with the managers, is attending" keeps the singular "owner" as the subject.

The tricky subjects

Beyond the cross-out trap, a handful of subject types have their own rules.

A few of these are worth a second look. "Each of the students has" is singular because "each" is the subject (not "students"). "There is a reason and a plan" is debated, but the ACT typically agrees the verb with the first item or rewrites; you will not be asked to split hairs, the tested cases are clear.

Applying it to an underlined verb

The routine is the same every time: subject, number, matching verb.

Why the cross-out habit is so powerful

Almost every ACT agreement error is built on distance: the test separates the subject from the verb so a nearer noun can mislead you. Crossing out the in-between words defeats most of these in seconds, and the tricky-subject rules handle the rest. The skill connects to pronoun agreement (a pronoun also matches its antecedent in number) and to verb forms (agreement chooses between forms like "is" and "are"). Train the cross-out reflex and a steady stream of Conventions points becomes routine.

Try this

Q1. How do you find the true subject when a phrase comes between it and the verb on the ACT? [Recall]

• Cue. Cross out the prepositional phrase or modifier between the subject and the verb (it begins with words like of, in, with, as well as, along with), then match the verb to the bare subject. The noun nearest the verb is often the object of a preposition, not the subject.

Q2. Explain why "The committee of experts disagree on the plan" is wrong if "committee" acts as one unit, and fix it. [Short explanation]

• Cue. In American usage a collective noun like "committee" acting as a single unit is singular, and the true subject is "committee", not "experts" (which is inside the prepositional phrase "of experts"). So the verb should be singular: "The committee of experts disagrees on the plan."