GED Reasoning Through Language Arts
Subject-Verb Agreement
The subject and its verb must match in number: one dog barks, two dogs bark. Every test question on this makes the match hard to see by stuffing words between the subject and the verb, hoping you match the verb to the nearest noun instead of the real subject.
The words first
- subject
- who or what the sentence is about — the do-er
- verb
- the action or state word that must match the subject
- prepositional phrase
- a phrase like "of the students" or "in the boxes" — NEVER contains the subject
- singular / plural
- one / more than one
The method
THE CROSS-OUT METHOD
Cross out every phrase starting with of, in, on, with, from, at:
The box (of old letters) sits in the attic.
box … sits ✓ singular + singular
The keys (to the cabinet) are missing.
keys … are ✓ plural + plural
SPECIAL SUBJECTS
each, every, everyone, nobody, either → SINGULAR, always
Each of the players has a locker.
A and B → plural
The coach and the trainer were late.
either A or B → match the CLOSER one
Either the twins or their mother drives.
Worked all the way through
The problem
Choose the verb: "The stack of unpaid invoices (was / were) sitting on her desk."
- Step 1 — Cross out the prepositional phrase."of unpaid invoices" starts with "of" — gone.
- Step 2 — Read what is left."The stack ___ sitting on her desk."
- Step 3 — Find the number of the real subject.Stack. One stack. Singular.
- Step 4 — Match the verb.Singular subject takes "was": The stack was sitting.
On the board
The stack (of unpaid invoices) …
cross out the "of" phrase
subject = stack
one stack, singular
invoices ≠ subject
the trap word
stack was sitting ✓
singular + singular
Answer
was
A second one, in a different form
"Each of the twelve jurors (have / has) reached a decision."
cross out (of the twelve jurors)
subject = Each
always singular
Each has ✓
Answer
has
The usual mistake
Matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the actual subject.
Check yourself
Read the sentence with the crossed-out phrase actually removed. "The stack were sitting" sounds wrong the instant the trap words are gone — your ear works fine once the decoys are out of the way.
Practice it
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