Form, Structure, and Sense 1: agreement and pronouns
Standard English Conventions is about 26% of the Reading and Writing section (11–15 of 54 questions). Form, Structure, and Sense questions give a sentence with a blank and four forms of the same word, such as is, are, has, have, who or whom, and you choose the one that fits.
Find the subject, then match the verb
A singular subject needs a singular verb and a plural subject needs a plural verb. With present-tense verbs the singular form usually ends in -s (the river flows) and the plural form does not (the rivers flow). Be careful: with nouns it is the other way around, because the plural noun has the -s. Do not look at the word next to the verb; find the real subject.
Cross out the extra words
Phrases between the subject and the verb do not change the subject. Words such as of, with, in, along with, together with, as well as and phrases in commas can be crossed out. In “The box of pencils is on the desk”, the subject is box, not pencils. In “The teacher, along with her students, was waiting”, the subject is teacher.
| Sentence | Real subject | Verb |
|---|---|---|
| The list of winners ____ posted. | list | is |
| The roads near the old bridge ____ closed. | roads | are |
| My cousin, together with his friends, ____ coming. | cousin | is |
When the subject comes after the verb
In some sentences the verb comes first: “There are two bridges”, “Here is the key”, “Beside the river stand three old mills”, or questions such as “Where are the maps?” The subject is still the noun that the verb is about, so look after the verb, find the noun, and match it. “There” and “here” are never the subject.
Special subjects
Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee, jury) are singular when the group acts as one: “The team wins its game.” Each, every, either, neither, everyone, someone and no one are singular. Two subjects joined by and are plural: “Anvar and Laylo are late.” With or or nor, the verb matches the subject nearer to it: “Neither the captain nor the players are ready.” “The number of” is singular; “a number of” is plural.
| Subject | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Collective noun acting as a group | singular | The class is on a trip. |
| Each / every / everyone / no one | singular | Everyone has a ticket. |
| A and B | plural | The pen and the ruler are here. |
| A or B / neither A nor B | matches the nearer subject | Either the cook or the helpers are late. |
| The number of … / A number of … | singular / plural | The number of guests is high. A number of guests are late. |
Pronouns must agree with their nouns
A pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number. Use it and its for one thing or one group (“The company changed its name”) and they, them and their for more than one (“The students packed their bags”). Make sure it is clear which noun the pronoun means. Check the pronoun with a long phrase in between: in “The museum, which owns many paintings, opened its doors”, the pronoun refers to museum, not to paintings.
Pronoun case: I or me, who or whom
Pronouns change form by job. Subject: I, he, she, we, they, who. Object: me, him, her, us, them, whom. Possessive: my, his, her, our, their, whose. With two names, drop the other person and test the pronoun alone: “Leyla and (I / me) went” becomes “I went”, so “Leyla and I”; “between you and (I / me)” becomes “between me”, because between takes an object. For who or whom, answer the question with he or him: if he fits, use who; if him fits, use whom.
| Job | Pronouns |
|---|---|
| Subject (does the action) | I, he, she, we, they, who |
| Object (receives the action or follows a preposition) | me, him, her, us, them, whom |
| Possessive (shows ownership) | my, his, her, our, their, whose |
The collection of ancient coins found near the old caravanserai ______ now displayed in the city museum. Visitors can see coins from five different centuries, each in its own glass case.
- are
- have been
- is
- were
- Find the subject: “collection”, not “coins”.
- “Of ancient coins found near the old caravanserai” is an extra phrase that can be crossed out.
- “Collection” is singular, and the sentence is in the present (“now displayed”).
- “Is” is singular and present.
Behind the old mill ______ three small ponds where herons often come to feed. The local farmers say that the ponds are much older than the mill itself.
- is
- are
- has
- lies
- The verb comes before its subject.
- Look after the verb: the subject is “ponds”, which is plural.
- “Is”, “has” and “lies” are singular. “Are” is plural.
Neither the captain nor her teammates ______ expecting such an early start to the match. Everyone had thought that the game would begin after lunch, so nobody had warmed up.
- was
- were
- has been
- is
- The subjects are joined by “nor”, so the verb matches the nearer one.
- The nearer subject is “teammates”, which is plural.
- The sentence is in the past (“had thought”), so “were”.
The guide divided the tickets between my sister and ______ before the tour began. We each received three tickets for the afternoon, and we thanked her.
- I
- me
- myself
- mine
- Drop “my sister and”: “between ______”.
- “Between” is a preposition, so it needs an object pronoun.
- “Me” is the object form. “I” is a subject form, “myself” is reflexive and “mine” is possessive.
- Matching the verb to the nearest nounCross out phrases beginning with of, with, in, along with, as well as, and commas that add information. Match the verb to the true subject.
- Thinking that -s means pluralNouns take -s in the plural (dogs), but present-tense verbs take -s in the singular (runs). One of the two has the -s, never both.
- Treating each, every and everyone as pluralThey are singular: “Everyone has”, “Each of the girls is”.
- Forgetting that and joins subjects but or does notA and B is plural. With or or nor, look at the subject nearer to the verb.
- Choosing I because it sounds politeDrop the other name and test the pronoun alone: “gave tickets to Aziz and (I / me)” becomes “gave tickets to me”.
- Using they or their for a group acting as oneA team, committee, class or company that acts together is singular: it and its. Check later pronouns in the sentence for a clue.