# SAT Subject–Verb Agreement: Long-Subject Drills | topin

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## Find the subject of the specific verb being tested

College Board includes sentence structure and usage in Standard English Conventions. Use the [Form, Structure and Sense overview](/sat/reading-writing/form-structure-and-sense) for the full question type. This focused article isolates agreement with longer subjects. Each example is original and asks you to explain which subject controls the particular verb, not simply which singular or plural word appears somewhere in the sentence.

Purdue’s [agreement guidance](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general%5Fwriting/grammar/subject%5Fverb%5Fagreement.html) explains that an intervening phrase does not change the main subject’s number, and that structures with and differ from those with or or nor. Our practice method marks the tested verb, asks “who or what performs this action?” and brackets descriptive material. Do not delete every relative clause blindly: a verb inside that clause can have its own subject.

The question’s choices can help identify the task. If choices differ mainly between is and are or has and have, inspect number. If they also differ in tense or verb form, check those features too. A choice matching the subject can still be wrong for the sentence’s time or structure. Agreement is one decision inside grammar, not a reason to stop reading the completed sentence.

## Original drill 1: a singular head with plural descriptions

Choose the verb: “The arrangement of lamps beside the two windows \_\_\_ the room a softer light.” Options: give, gives, have given, are giving. In a present-tense description, gives is the appropriate singular form. The subject is arrangement, not lamps or windows. The phrase beginning of describes the arrangement; beside the two windows adds location. The core relationship is “The arrangement gives the room a softer light.”

Contrast “The lamps beside the two windows \_\_\_ the room a softer light.” Here the subject is lamps, so give is appropriate in the same present-tense context. Removing one word and its relationship changes the controlling subject. Do not memorise that sentences containing an of phrase always take a singular verb. You need the head noun and the particular verb being tested.

Our review variation changes arrangement to arrangements while keeping the descriptions. The core then becomes “The arrangements give”. This demonstrates the actual repair: identify number at the head, not at the most recent noun. If the error repeats, mark the head explicitly in several fresh sentences, then reduce the annotation once you can identify it quickly without drawing a bracket around the entire passage.

## Original drill 2: relative clauses have their own agreement

Compare “The reports that describe the survey \_\_\_ on the shelf.” For the main blank, reports is the subject and are completes a present-tense location statement. The relative clause “that describe the survey” describes reports. Now compare “The report that describes the surveys \_\_\_ on the shelf.” The main subject is report, so is fits. The plural surveys inside the relative clause does not control the main verb.

The relative-clause verb also changes: reports that describe versus report that describes. If the tested blank occurs inside the relative clause, you must analyse that local relationship. Simply crossing out everything from that onwards can remove the very structure being tested. Mark the blank first, then identify the controlling subject for that verb. There may be more than one valid subject–verb pair in a sentence.

An original two-blank rehearsal is “The diagrams that illustrate the process \_\_\_ useful, but the explanation that accompanies them \_\_\_ brief.” Diagrams are useful; explanation is brief. Each main clause has its own subject. Explaining both pairs forces you to track structure rather than following a single noun through the whole sentence. Use simple synonyms if the content distracts, while preserving singular and plural relationships.

## Original drill 3: conjunctions and added phrases differ

Complete: “The curator and the archivist \_\_\_ preparing the display.” Are fits because two people joined by and form a plural subject. Now complete: “The curator, along with the archivists, \_\_\_ preparing the display.” Is fits because along with introduces accompanying information rather than a second coordinated subject. Both sentences mention several people, but they have different grammatical controlling structures.

For or and nor combinations, inspect the grammatical pattern and the subject nearer the verb under the standard agreement rule. “Either the assistants or the curator is available” differs from “Either the curator or the assistants are available.” Keep the order supplied by the question. Do not treat every word joining people as equivalent to and. Meaning that several people are involved does not decide the verb by itself.

Our original practice set keeps the people unchanged while altering the connector: curator and archivists, curator with archivists, either curator or archivists. State the structure before choosing the verb. That approach is more reliable than a slogan such as “ignore all words after with”, which can fail if the tested verb belongs elsewhere. The specific verb and its subject remain the centre of the analysis.

## Original drill 4: the subject can follow the verb

Choose: “There \_\_\_ three explanations for the pattern.” Are fits because the subject is three explanations, not there. Compare “There \_\_\_ one explanation for the pattern.” Is fits. The introductory word sets the sentence’s arrangement but does not determine singular or plural. Recast as “Three explanations are there” only as a temporary grammar check; do not confuse the awkward rehearsal rewrite with the intended polished sentence.

Another original pair is “Beside the cabinet stand two stools” and “Beside the cabinet stands a stool.” The subject follows the verb in each. Looking only to the left of the blank would find cabinet and could lead to a false singular choice in the first sentence. Ask who or what stands, then locate the noun even when the word order differs from the familiar subject-first pattern.

When practising, underline the full introductory location phrase and draw the subject–verb pair separately. Then create a fresh sentence with the same inversion and different nouns. If you continue matching the verb to the location noun, slow down and answer the action question explicitly. The repair is syntactic identification, not learning that the word beside always predicts a particular form.

## Original drill 5: check each and non-finite forms

Complete: “Each of the instruments \_\_\_ a separate label.” Has fits: each is singular, while instruments occurs inside the of phrase. Compare “The instruments \_\_\_ separate labels.” Have fits. The change in controlling subject explains the change in verb. Do not choose by the plural object labels either; objects and descriptive nouns do not establish the subject’s number.

Now complete: “The instruments, tested at two temperatures, \_\_\_ stable.” In an ordinary present-tense description, are fits. Tested is a participial description, not the main finite verb. A sentence can contain a word that looks like a past-tense verb without having completed its main clause. Distinguish a descriptive participle from the verb that establishes the sentence’s grammatical predicate.

Finally, “Testing the instruments takes two hours” uses the testing activity as the subject. The plural instruments is the object inside that activity phrase. The core activity takes time. This original sentence helps explain why automatically selecting the nearest plural noun fails. Read the whole subject expression and identify what the sentence is making a claim about before choosing the tested form.

## Practise identification, then reduce the annotation

__Original agreement diagnosis table__
| Pattern                       | Controlling structure        | Practice cue                                                        |
| ----------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Arrangement of lamps          | Singular arrangement         | Bracket the of phrase                                               |
| Reports that describe surveys | Plural reports for main verb | Identify whether the blank is inside or outside the relative clause |
| Curator and archivist         | Coordinated plural subject   | Inspect the actual connector                                        |
| Curator along with archivists | Singular curator             | Added phrase does not form an and subject                           |
| There are explanations        | Subject follows the verb     | Ask what exists                                                     |
| Each of the instruments       | Singular each                | Separate head from description                                      |
| Testing instruments           | Activity phrase as subject   | Do not choose the activity’s object                                 |

Use the [semicolon and colon drills](/articles/sat-semicolon-colon-however-drills) to connect agreement identification with complete-clause recognition. Once the core sentence is visible, punctuation decisions also become easier to explain. Use the [Reading and Writing timing guide](/articles/sat-reading-writing-timing) only after the identification is accurate; a faster nearest-noun guess is still the same structural error.

[topin’s free SAT mock](/sat/practice-test), marked on the official scale, can check transfer to fresh timed passages. In the [error log](/articles/sat-error-log-score-plateau), record whether you chose an intervening noun, misidentified the tested clause, missed inversion or ignored a connector. Add one corrective action and verify it in an unseen sentence. The aim is concise correct identification, not extensive grammar marking on every test item.

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## FAQs

Should the verb agree with the nearest noun?

Only if that noun is the controlling subject. Intervening objects and descriptions often are not.

Can I always ignore a relative clause?

No. If the tested verb is inside it, that clause’s subject matters. Locate the blank before simplifying.

Is along with equivalent to and?

No. An accompanying phrase does not create the same coordinated subject structure as and.

What is the subject in there are three reports?

Three reports. There does not control the verb’s number.

How should I practise agreement after a mistake?

Identify the exact structural cause, then test a fresh sentence that changes the nouns while retaining that structure.

## Sources (checked 5 October 2026)

* [College Board: Reading and Writing domains (checked 5 October 2026)](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/whats-on-the-test/reading-writing)
* [Purdue Writing Lab: subject–verb agreement (checked 5 October 2026)](https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general%5Fwriting/grammar/subject%5Fverb%5Fagreement.html)
* [College Board: using the Student Question Bank (checked 5 October 2026)](https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/practice/student-question-bank)

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