ACT English: Spot Subject-Verb Agreement Errors in Seconds

Rule 1: The subject is the noun performing the action, not the object of a preposition near it. Example: "The team of players are ready" is wrong because "team" is the subject (singular), not "players." Correct: "The team of players is ready." Rule 2: Compound subjects joined by "and" are plural. Example: "Sarah and Tom is coming" is wrong; it should be "Sarah and Tom are coming." Rule 3: Subjects joined by "or" or "nor" agree with the closest subject. Example: "Either the coach or the players are responsible." These three rules cover at least 90% of subject-verb agreement errors on the ACT, so memorize them and apply them mechanically.

When you see a verb, identify the true subject (ask "who or what is doing the action?"), check if it's singular or plural, and verify the verb matches. Practice on five sentences from a grammar textbook or ACT practice test. Mark the subject, identify its number, and confirm the verb agrees.

Trap 1: Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb. "The bag of groceries are heavy" looks right because "groceries" is plural and nearby, but "bag" is the subject and is singular. Correct: "The bag of groceries is heavy." Trap 2: Thinking plural sounds right. Sometimes "The data shows" sounds wrong because "data" ends in "a," but data is actually treated as singular in American English. Trap 3: Confusing "either/or" situations. "Either dog or the cats run" is wrong; it should be "Either dog or the cats runs" because you match "cats" (closest subject). Trust the rules, not your ear.

Create a one-page reference sheet with all three rules and one example each. Tape it to your wall and reference it whenever you do grammar practice. By test day, these patterns will be automatic.

Sentence 1: "The group of students have/has completed the project." Answer: has (group is singular). Sentence 2: "Neither the teacher nor the students was/were prepared." Answer: were (closest subject is students, plural). Sentence 3: "The number of mistakes are/is decreasing." Answer: is (number is singular). Sentence 4: "The committee members discusses/discuss the issue." Answer: discuss (committee members is plural). Sentence 5: "Physics and chemistry requires/require different tools." Answer: require (compound subject, plural). For each sentence, identify the true subject and apply the appropriate rule before you choose an answer.

Now practice on 10 sentences from an ACT practice test. Mark the subject, apply the rule, and verify your choice. Track your accuracy. If you miss any, review which rule you applied incorrectly and redo the sentence.

Subject-verb agreement is a foundational grammar skill that appears on nearly every ACT English test, often in multiple questions. Because the rules are mechanical and learnable, this is one of the highest-return grammar skills. Mastering these three rules alone can earn you 2-3 extra points on the English section because the errors are so common and the fixes are so predictable.

Commit one week to drilling these three rules on practice sentences. By test day, you should spot agreement errors faster than you spot any other grammar mistake, which gives you time for the trickier questions.