Chapter 9: The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.

 

 

This principle is also known as the 'Subject-Verb Agreement Rule'.

 

 

 

 

But what do they mean by this? Well, let's look at an example provided in this chapter:

 

 

The bittersweet flavor of youth-- its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges-- are not soon forgotten.

 

 

The bittersweet flavor of youth-- its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges-- is not soon forgotten.

 

 

 

In this case, the use of are to modify the subject, flavor, is mistaken, simply because flavor is a singular noun. We say the flavor is nice, not the flavor are nice.

 

 

 

Just to be sure, let's take out the middle bit of the sentence, its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges, and see what we're left with.

 

 

The bittersweet flavor of youth are not soon forgotten.

 

 

The bittersweet flavor of youth is not soon forgotten.

 

 

 

The trick is to not be confused by the number of non-subject nouns in the sentence. In this case, these are trials, joys, and adventures. Just because there are many nouns listed here doesn't mean the verb modifying the subject has to change to plural form.

 

 

 

Here are a few more examples:

 

 

 

 

 

                                                    None of us are perfect.                                                            None of us is perfect.

                                                                                 

 

                                                    Measles are a dangerous disease for pregnant women.            Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.

                                                        

 

                                                    None of you claims responsibility for this incident?                None of you claim responsibility for this incident?

                                                        

 

 

Why should you care?

 

I came across many problems on the SAT Writing section that dealt with this concept. Knowing how to spot and fix errors concerning subject-verb agreement will not only help you in your daily writing, but will help you perform better on such standardized tests.