Here are some of the most challenging examples of subject-verb agreement, along with the correct forms of verbs:
1. Either of the options (is/are) acceptable.
Answer: is
2. Not only the students but also the teacher (participate/participates) in the activity.
Answer: participates
3. The committee (discuss/discusses) the proposal thoroughly.
Answer: discusses
4. The list of candidates (have/has) been finalized.
Answer: has
5. Each of the students (has/have) their own strengths.
Answer: has
6. A number of books (was/were) borrowed from the library.
Answer: were
7. The majority of the team (is/are) in favor of the new strategy.
Answer: is
8. Politics (is/are) a contentious topic of discussion.
Answer: is
9. The quality, as well as the price, (play/plays) a role in my decision.
Answer: plays
10. The jury (deliberate/deliberates) for hours before reaching a verdict.
Answer: deliberates
11. Neither the teacher nor the students (know/knows) the answer.
Answer: know
12. The committee members (disagree/disagrees) on the best approach.
Answer: disagree
13. The variety of colors (add/adds) beauty to the painting.
Answer: adds
14. The United Nations (is/are) an international organization.
Answer: is
15. Three-quarters of the cake (has/have) been eaten.
Answer: has
16. The number of people invited (was/were) significant.
Answer: was
17. The swarm of bees (create/creates) a buzzing sound.
Answer: creates
18. Neither John nor his friends (is/are) available to attend the party.
Answer: is
19. The staff (consists/consist) of experienced professionals.
Answer: consists
20. The variety of apples (come/comes) in different colors.
Answer: comes
21. The jury (was/were) unable to reach a unanimous decision.
Answer: was
22. The cost of living (has/have) increased in recent years.
Answer: has
23. The series of events (lead/leads) to an unexpected outcome.
Answer: leads
24. The majority of the students (prefers/prefer) online classes.
Answer: prefer
25. A group of children (play/plays) in the park every afternoon.
Answer: play
In these examples, paying attention to the subject-verb agreement is essential for proper sentence construction. Challenging cases may involve collective nouns, expressions of quantity, indefinite pronouns, and complex sentence structures. Practicing subject-verb agreement will improve your ability to choose the right form of verbs in various contexts.
