Subject-Verb Agreement Traps
You already know most of this. Ten traps, five minutes each side — guess the sentence, then reveal the answer and why. Built for the night before, not for completeness.
🌙 Ten traps. That's it.
Not a full chapter on subject-verb agreement — just the 10 traps that actually show up in SSC and bank exams: the proximity rule, collective nouns, intervening phrases, and inverted sentences. Read one, guess before you reveal, and move on. If these ten feel solid, you're ready for tomorrow.
Subject-Verb Agreement Traps — 10-Trap Revision Card
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The PDF includes every answer and explanation, even ones you haven't revealed here.
Trap 1 — proximity rule with neither…nor
Choose the correct verb.
"Neither the manager nor the employees ___ informed about the schedule change."
✅ Correct
- were informed about the schedule change
❌ The trap most students write
was informed about the schedule change
With 'neither…nor' and 'either…or', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it — here, the plural 'employees' — not the first subject named. Exams place a singular noun first specifically to pull your eye toward a singular verb.
Trap 2 — collective noun as a united body
Choose the correct verb.
"The jury have announced its final verdict after six hours of deliberation."
✅ Correct
- The jury has announced its final verdict after six hours of deliberation.
❌ The trap most students write
The jury have announced its final verdict after six hours of deliberation.
Collective nouns (jury, committee, team, family) take a singular verb when the group acts as one united body — signalled here by 'its' and a single, unified 'verdict'. Formal exam English defaults to singular unless individual action is clearly implied.
Trap 3 — intervening phrase distractor
Choose the correct verb.
"The list of candidates selected for the interview ___ posted on the notice board."
✅ Correct
- is posted on the notice board
❌ The trap most students write
are posted on the notice board
The true subject is 'list' (singular), not 'candidates'. The phrase 'of candidates selected for the interview' is an intervening phrase inserted specifically to make you forget the real subject. Mentally bracket it out and test agreement without it.
Trap 4 — indefinite pronoun (each, every, either, neither)
Choose the correct verb.
"Each of the departments in the organisation ___ a separate budget report every year."
✅ Correct
- submits a separate budget report every year
❌ The trap most students write
submit a separate budget report every year
Indefinite pronouns — each, every, either, neither, anyone, everyone — always take a singular verb, no matter what plural noun follows them. 'Departments' sitting right before the verb is the deliberate trap.
Trap 5 — inverted sentence (there is/there are)
Choose the correct verb.
"There was a pen, three files, and a stapler on the officer's desk."
✅ Correct
- There were a pen, three files, and a stapler on the officer's desk.
❌ The trap most students write
There was a pen, three files, and a stapler on the officer's desk.
In 'there is/there are' sentences, the true subject comes after the verb — here, a compound subject. The verb must agree with the first element that follows, or with the compound as a whole when it's clearly plural. Flip the sentence mentally: 'A pen, three files, and a stapler were on the desk' makes the correct form obvious.
Trap 6 — 'together with' phantom plural
Choose the correct verb.
"The chairman, together with the board members, were unavailable for comment."
✅ Correct
- The chairman, together with the board members, was unavailable for comment.
❌ The trap most students write
The chairman, together with the board members, were unavailable for comment.
Phrases joined by 'together with', 'along with', 'as well as', or 'accompanied by' do not create a compound subject — they're parenthetical. Mentally erase everything between the commas: 'The chairman … was unavailable' reveals the correct form.
Trap 7 — 'a number of' vs 'the number of'
Choose the correct verb.
"A number of candidates was disqualified for using unfair means in the exam."
✅ Correct
- A number of candidates were disqualified for using unfair means in the exam.
❌ The trap most students write
A number of candidates was disqualified for using unfair means in the exam.
'A number of' means 'several' and takes a plural verb — the emphasis is on many individual candidates. 'The number of' would refer to a specific count and takes a singular verb. The two phrases are easy to confuse but follow opposite rules.
Trap 8 — mathematical expressions and '-ics' nouns
Choose the correct verbs.
"Ten minus four are six, and civics remain her favourite subject."
✅ Correct
- Ten minus four is six, and civics remains her favourite subject.
❌ The trap most students write
Ten minus four are six, and civics remain her favourite subject.
Two errors in one sentence: an arithmetic result stated as a subject is treated as singular ('is six', not 'are six'), and '-ics' subject nouns like civics, physics, mathematics, and economics are singular despite ending in -s, just like 'news'.
Trap 9 — relative clause agreement (one of those who)
Choose the correct verb.
"He is one of those officers who always completes his assignments on time."
✅ Correct
- He is one of those officers who always complete their assignments on time.
❌ The trap most students write
He is one of those officers who always completes his assignments on time.
The antecedent of 'who' is 'officers' (plural), not 'one' (singular) — the phrase means among those officers who always complete. Exams disguise this by making the sentence feel like it's about a single person, pulling you toward a singular verb.
Trap 10 — plural-form singular nouns
Choose the correct verb.
"The news regarding the upcoming policy changes were released this morning."
✅ Correct
- The news regarding the upcoming policy changes was released this morning.
❌ The trap most students write
The news regarding the upcoming policy changes were released this morning.
'News' looks plural but is always grammatically singular, like mathematics, physics, and economics. The intervening phrase 'regarding the upcoming policy changes' compounds the trap by placing a plural noun right before the verb.
That's the last 5% that trips people up. The rest, you already have.
Sleep well. You're ready.
Want More Than Ten Traps?
Take the full mock test, or work through error spotting practice covering every subject-verb agreement pattern SSC actually asks.