Subject Verb Agreement in GMAT verbal is the most commonly tested type of questions. As part of the GMAT sentence completion, candidates' abilities in identifying the mistakes based on subject-verb agreement is assessed. Accordingly, in every sentence, the verb and subject needs to be in agreement. The GMAT test makers ensure that the GMAT verbal questions are as complex as possible so as to confuse candidates for subjects being singular or plural.It is important that candidates have knowledge about the GMAT syllabus to understand what they need to learn in the section.
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Definition of Subject Verb Agreement
Subject: The entity based on which a sentence is formed is the subject. The subject of a sentence or clause is always a noun or a pronoun. This noun unit can be a one-word noun or a noun phrase. However, a noun/pronoun preceded by a preposition can never act as a noun. For example:
- The sun rises in the east
- The wildlife in Amazon attracts many tourists
In the above sentences, the sun and the wildlife in Amazon are the subjects in the sentences. While attempting for GMAT sentence correction, candidates should be able to understand the subject of the sentence.
Verb: the state of being a noun, an action or an event is known as a verb. Accordingly, it denotes the time of action in a sentence. For example:
- The sun rises in the east
- The wildlife in Amazon attracts many tourists
In the above sentences, rises and attracts is the event and action in the respective sentences. Candidates need to ensure that while attempting GMAT sentence correction in the GMAT verbal section, they are able to identify the verb in the sentences.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules
Subject Verb Agreement in GMAT Grammar considers certain rules following which candidates might have the ability to crack verbal GMAT. For the subject verb agreement, GMAT sentence correction rules would allow the candidates to maintain their efficiency in answering. The subject verb agreement rules for GMAT English are as follows:
- For the sentence to make sense, the verb needs to agree with the subject in number. This implies if the noun or pronoun is singular, the verb to be used needs to be singular. If the noun or pronoun is plural, the verb used needs to be plural as well. For example:
- Maria studies for an hour everyday- here Maria is the singular noun and studies is the singular verb
- We try not to each junk too often- here we is the plural pronoun and try is the plural verb
- For compound subjects where nouns and pronouns are joined with an ‘and’ the verb used is to be plural. Candidates should make use of GMAT Verbal Books in order to learn and practice for the exam.
- My friends and I go for a walk every evening- here the verb go is plural.
- Every weekend, Sam and I spend the mornings in the NGO- here the verb spend is plural
- There may be a phrase or a clause included between the subject and the verb. Here the verb has to agree with the noun/pronoun in the subject irrespective of the noun used in the phrase. For example:
- The women waiting outside my gate are my friends
- One of the team players is my brother
Subject Verb Agreement Rules for Collective Nouns
Collective nouns take into consideration singular verbs in a sentence. Candidates need to make use of GMAT grammar appropriately to answer the questions proving their grammatical abilities. The collective nouns in GMAT English act as one entity and hence, the use of the verb is singular. For example:
- The crowd has dispersed
- The opponent team has won the match
However, when the collective nouns are used but the reference is made to the members of a group, the verb used is to be plural. For example:
- The members of the team are happy with their win
- All the members of the family have worked hard for the Christmas preparation
Subject Verb Agreement Rules for Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns like he, she or it, use the singular verb and the pronouns of they or we make use of the plural verb. Candidates should follow the GMAT Verbal Practice Papers to develop their skills and knowledge in GMAT subject verb agreement. Examples for GMAT sentence correction rules in subject verb agreement is as follows:
- They go (plural verb) for a jog every morning.
- He was happy to meet his old friends after a long time.
- You were right on time.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules for Indefinite Pronouns
The singular verb is used when the subject has a singular indefinite pronoun. On the other hand, for plural indefinite pronouns, the plural verb is used. Examples have been given below. Candidates need to consider GMAT English Preparation Tips for enough practice and acing all the GMAT Verbal Questions.
- Each of these problems is quite difficult- here ‘each’ is the singular indefinite pronoun and ‘is’ is the singular verb.
- Only a few of them must have attempted the difficult questions- here few is the plural indefinite pronoun and have is the plural verb.
Subject verb Agreement Rules for Clear Meaning
Apart from being present in the sentence and agreeing in number with each other, the subject and the verb must make sense with each other as well. Hence, the subject-verb makes logical sense. For example:
- The development of the electric cars in the automobile industry will be able to reduce the carbon footprint of the industry in the environment.
The above sentence implies that the electric cars will be able to reduce the carbon footprint and not its development. Here the subject cars and the verb will make sense with one another. Candidates can make use of the GMAT verbal review as the reference guide book to practice for the GMAT and ensure that they develop GMAT Grammar skills and proficiency.
Hence, focusing on these subject verb agreement rules for GMAT sentence correction, candidates need to take active practice. This would help them in acing the exam and achieve higher scores.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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