Verbs — agreement, tense, form

#Subject–verb agreement

The entire question type is: find the subject, ignore everything between it and the verb.

That interruption is the test. It's there specifically to put a noun of the wrong number next to the verb:

The collection of rare manuscripts donated by several alumni was catalogued last spring.

Collection is the subject — singular. Manuscripts and alumni are inside a prepositional phrase and cannot be the subject. Cross the phrase out and the sentence reads The collection was catalogued, which is obviously right.

A noun inside a prepositional phrase is never the subject. Cross out every phrase starting with of, in, with, from, along with, as well as, including, together with and the question usually answers itself.

Three more cases:

• Inverted order. There **are** several **reasons**... — the subject follows the verb. Among the findings **was** a single **anomaly**.
• Compound subjects. A and B → plural. But A, as well as B → singular, because as well as is a phrase, not a conjunction.
• Collective nouns — team, committee, group, jury — are singular in US usage. The committee has decided.

#Tense

The test cares about consistency and sequence, not about tense in the abstract.

• Match the surrounding narration unless there's a reason to shift.
• Time markers govern. In 1847, last year, currently, by the time she arrived, since 2010 — these decide the tense, and they're always in the sentence somewhere. Find the marker first.
• Past perfect (had + participle) marks the earlier of two past events: By the time the funding arrived, the team had disbanded.
• Present perfect (has/have + participle) links past to present: Since 2010, the population has grown. Pairs with since, over the past decade, so far.

#Form

• Irregular participles. had gone not had went; had seen not had saw; had begun, had drunk, had rung, had written.
• Would have, not would of. The second isn't English; it's a transcription of how the first sounds.
• Conditionals. If it were (subjunctive) for hypotheticals: If the sample were larger, the result would be clearer.

#The procedure

1. Find the verb in question.
2. Strike out every phrase between it and its subject.
3. Read subject + verb alone, out loud in your head.
4. Check the sentence for a time marker.

Under thirty seconds once it's habit.