Which of the following best describes how to ensure subject-verb agreement in complex sentences?

Enhance your knowledge and skill set with the Honors English 10 Exam. Improve your English proficiency through dynamic quizzes, hints, and detailed explanations. Prepare effectively and succeed in your exam!

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes how to ensure subject-verb agreement in complex sentences?

In complex sentences, the verb must reflect the number of the main subject, not the nouns inside dependent clauses or interrupting phrases. The main subject is the word that governs the action of the sentence, so you ignore phrases like along with, as well as, in addition to, or other interrupting elements when deciding whether the verb should be singular or plural. This approach works because those extra phrases don’t change the core subject’s quantity. For example, in a sentence like The bouquet of flowers is on the table, the head noun bouquet is singular, so the verb is is even though flowers is plural. Likewise, when you have The captain, along with his teammates, is delivering the speech, the main subject captain governs the verb, so it stays is, not are. On the other hand, if you truly have two subjects joined by and, or if the main subject is plural, you would use a plural verb. So, identifying the main subject and ensuring the verb agrees in number with that subject, while ignoring interrupting phrases, is the correct method for handling subject-verb agreement in complex sentences.

In complex sentences, the verb must reflect the number of the main subject, not the nouns inside dependent clauses or interrupting phrases. The main subject is the word that governs the action of the sentence, so you ignore phrases like along with, as well as, in addition to, or other interrupting elements when deciding whether the verb should be singular or plural.

This approach works because those extra phrases don’t change the core subject’s quantity. For example, in a sentence like The bouquet of flowers is on the table, the head noun bouquet is singular, so the verb is is even though flowers is plural. Likewise, when you have The captain, along with his teammates, is delivering the speech, the main subject captain governs the verb, so it stays is, not are. On the other hand, if you truly have two subjects joined by and, or if the main subject is plural, you would use a plural verb.

So, identifying the main subject and ensuring the verb agrees in number with that subject, while ignoring interrupting phrases, is the correct method for handling subject-verb agreement in complex sentences.

More practice questions