Subject-Verb Agreement Rules, Intervening Phrases, and Compound Subjects

ACCUPLACER ESL Language Use Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Overview, Test Mechanics & Sentence Basics

Current Exam Facts & Format Essential Sentence Components: Subjects, Predicates, and Clauses Identifying and Fixing Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Splices

2 Chapter 2: Nouns, Pronouns, and Agreement

Noun Categories, Pluralization Rules, and Count vs. Non-Count Nouns Pronoun Cases: Subjective, Objective, Possessive Pronouns vs. Possessive Adjectives Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Ambiguous Reference Resolution

3 Chapter 3: Verbs and Tense Mechanics

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules, Intervening Phrases, and Compound Subjects Primary Verb Tenses: Simple, Progressive, Perfect, and Perfect Progressive Tenses Irregular Verb Forms, Active vs. Passive Voice, and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

4 Chapter 4: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifiers

Adjective vs. Adverb Distinctions, Usage Rules, and Sentence Placement Comparative and Superlative Formations, Irregular Modifiers, and Usage Constraints Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers: Identification, Traps, and Revision Strategies

5 Chapter 5: Coordination, Subordination, and Sentence Combining

Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS), Correlative Conjunctions, and Compound Sentence Construction Subordinating Conjunctions, Complex Sentences, and Punctuation Rules Advanced Sentence Combining: Transitions, Conjunctive Adverbs, and Relative Clauses

6 Chapter 6: ESL Grammar Traps, Prepositions, and Exam Strategies

Preposition Selection for Time, Place, Movement, and Dependent Preposition Phrases Common ESL Challenges: Articles (a/an/the), Negation, and Word Order Exam-Day Strategies: Analyzing Fill-in-the-Blank and Sentence-Combining Items

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules, Intervening Phrases, and Compound Subjects

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

A verb must agree in person and number with its grammatical subject, regardless of words, phrases, or clauses that intervene between them.

Prepositional phrases introduced by expressions like 'along with', 'as well as', 'in addition to', and 'together with' do not change a singular subject into a plural one.

Compound subjects connected by 'and' take a plural verb unless the items form a single recognized unit or refer to the same entity.

With disjunctive subjects connected by 'or', 'nor', 'either...or', or 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject noun phrase closest to it (the rule of proximity).

Indefinite pronouns like 'each', 'every', 'everyone', 'neither', and 'either' are grammatically singular, whereas pronouns like 'both', 'few', and 'several' are plural.

Last updated: August 2026

Core Agreement Mechanics & Third-Person Variations

The foundational principle of English grammar governing subjects and verbs is simple: a verb must agree in person (first, second, third) and number (singular, plural) with its subject. In the present simple tense, this relationship presents a distinct morphological contrast that frequently challenges non-native English speakers. While English nouns typically add an -s or -es suffix to form their plural forms ( one student vs. two students ), third-person singular verbs in the present tense add an -s or -es suffix ( the student walks vs. the students walk ).

To master subject-verb agreement for the ACCUPLACER ESL Language Use test, you must identify the structural core of the sentence—the true subject—and ignore non-essential modifiers that create distance between the subject and its predicate.

Singular vs. Plural Verb Forms in Present and Past Tenses

Person / Number Present Simple ( to work ) Present Auxiliary ( to be ) Present Auxiliary ( to have ) Past Auxiliary ( to be )

First Person Singular ( I ) work am have was
Second Person Singular ( you ) work are have were
Third Person Singular ( he/she/it/noun ) works is has was
Plural ( we/you/they/nouns ) work are have were

Notice that in regular present tense verbs, only the third-person singular form carries the -s inflection. In the past tense, only the verb to be retains distinct singular ( was ) and plural ( were ) forms. All other standard verbs in the past simple tense retain a uniform shape regardless of subject number ( the student worked / the students worked ). Incorrect: The results of the laboratory analysis confirms our hypothesis.

Correct: The results of the laboratory analysis confirm our hypothesis.

In the incorrect sentence above, the writer allowed the singular noun analysis (the object of a preposition) to dictate the verb form. The actual subject is the plural noun results , which demands the plural verb confirm .