Agreement, Pronouns and Modifiers

16 minintermediateModule 3: Verbal ReasoningContinues from hat-grammar-errors

16 min · Module 3: Verbal Reasoning · Grammar rules

Why This Matters

Grammar questions are the most deterministic items in the verbal section: there is one correct rule, no ambiguity and no need for a broad vocabulary. A candidate who knows fifteen rules can answer every agreement and pronoun question on the paper.

The examiner's whole craft in these items is to separate the verb from its subject. "The list of items ___ long" offers the eye a plural noun ("items") right next to the blank. If you follow your ear, you write "are". If you follow the rule, you find the real subject — "list" — and write "is".

A Simple Model

For every grammar sentence, ask three questions in this order:

What is the subject? Strip out every phrase that begins with of, with, along with, in addition to or together with — they are not part of the subject.
Is it singular or plural? Decide from the stripped-down subject, not from the nearest noun.
Does everything else agree with it? Pronouns, verbs and lists must all follow the same number and form.

The model is deliberately mechanical, because the questions are mechanical. You are not judging style; you are running a checklist.

The Actual Detail

Subject and verb agreement

Rule	Correct	Wrong
The verb follows the true subject, not the nearest noun	The list of items is long	The list of items are long
Each, every, either, neither are singular	Each of the students has a card	Each of the students have a card
One of the + plural noun takes a singular verb	One of the books is missing	One of the books are missing
Either ... or and neither ... nor agree with the nearer subject	Neither the manager nor the clerks were ready	Neither the manager nor the clerks was ready
A number of takes a plural verb; the number of takes a singular verb	A number of students were absent	A number of students was absent
Collective nouns take a singular verb when acting as one body	The committee has decided	The committee have decided
Distances, amounts and periods are singular	Ten kilometres is a long walk	Ten kilometres are a long walk
Phrases in between do not change the number	The teacher, along with the students, was late	The teacher, along with the students, were late

Pronouns

After a preposition, use the object form: between you and me, for him and her.
Who is a subject, whom is an object: the officer who arrested him; the officer whom we met.
Its is possessive, it's means it is; their is possessive, they're means they are.
Each, every and everyone take a singular pronoun in formal writing.

Modifiers and parallelism

Modifiers attach to the nearest sensible noun. "Walking down the road, a dog bit me" says the dog was walking down the road; the sentence must start with the person it describes.
Lists must be parallel: reading, writing and arithmetic — not reading, writing and to do arithmetic.
Comparisons must be complete and correct: she is senior to me, different from the others, taller than any other student in the class.
Fewer counts, less measures: fewer students, less water; fewer rupees, less money.

Cross out the decoy phrase. Physically strike the phrase between the subject and the verb, then read the sentence: "The list ... is long" becomes instantly obvious. This one move answers most agreement questions on the paper.

Three traps the examiner reuses. (1) A plural noun sitting immediately before the verb. (2) "One of the", where the singular "one" governs the verb. (3) "Along with" or "as well as", which do not make a singular subject plural, whereas "and" does.

Worked Examples

1. The quality of the samples ___ excellent.

Strike "of the samples": the subject is "quality", singular, so the verb is is. The plural "samples" is the decoy.

2. Neither the principal nor the teachers ___ informed.

With neither ... nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: "teachers" is plural, so were.

3. Being a careful driver, ___ .

The opening modifier must describe the subject of the main clause, so the completion has to make the driver the subject: "Being a careful driver, he checked the mirrors before moving". A completion beginning with "the car" is a dangling modifier.

4. The team ___ unable to agree on a single strategy, yet its members remained cordial.

Treating the team as one body takes a singular verb: was. Note the pronoun "its", which agrees with the same singular view — the sentence is internally consistent.

Try It

Choose the correct sentence.

Each of the candidates ___ submitted the form.

Which sentence avoids a dangling modifier?

She is senior ___ me in the department.

Check Your Understanding

Without looking back: what governs the verb in "one of the books ___ missing", and which pairs take "to" rather than "than"?

The answer: the singular word "one"; and senior, junior, superior and inferior all take "to".

In "one of the books is missing", the subject is the word , which is singular. With either ... or and neither ... nor, the verb agrees with the subject. After a preposition we use the object form of a pronoun, as in between you and , and senior takes the preposition .

Apply It

Find and correct the single error in each of these sentences: (1) "The number of applicants have risen sharply." (2) "Ten kilometres are a long distance to walk." (3) "Neither of the two plans were acceptable." (4) "He is more taller than his brother."

Show the reasoning

(1) "The number of" is singular, so it takes has risen — while "a number of applicants have risen" would be correct, which is exactly why this pair is a favourite.

(2) Distances are treated as a single quantity, so is a long distance.

(3) "Neither" is singular on its own, so was acceptable. Note the contrast with "neither the manager nor the clerks were", where the nearer subject is plural.

(4) "Taller" is already comparative, so the comparative "more" is redundant: He is taller than his brother.

Each correction came from one rule, not from a sense of what sounds right — and each wrong version is precisely what "sounds right" if you read quickly.

Connect

Agreement and pronouns are the mechanical half of grammar. The next lesson turns to the systems that place an event in time and mark old versus new information: tenses, articles and conditionals.