Subject-verb agreement: the rules the exam actually tests
You already know that “the clerk file” is wrong. So does the exam, which is why it does not ask. Every agreement item on this paper is one of a handful of constructions chosen because they are the places a fluent ear stops being reliable.
Find the subject, ignore everything between it and the verb, and decide the number from the subject alone. Four constructions defeat that instinct, and they are what the section is made of.
The format is part of the test
These items print a sentence in lettered segments and ask which segment is not acceptable in formal written English, with a fifth option for no error at all. The segment boundaries are not neutral - they are drawn so the subject sits in one segment and the verb in another, which is exactly the separation that makes agreement hard to hear.
Two consequences. Read the whole sentence before looking at any segment, because a segment is not wrong on its own - it is wrong relative to a subject printed somewhere else. And take “No error” seriously: it is a real answer, not a courtesy option, and refusing to pick it is how people talk themselves into changing a correct sentence.
The four constructions
Where the ear stops working
Construction
The rule
What it looks like
Words between subject and verb
The subject decides, not the nearest noun
The list of applicants was reviewed
Collective nouns
Singular when acting as one body
The agency is responsible
A number of / the number of
A number of is plural; the number of is singular
A number of applicants were reviewed
Either / neither / each / every
Singular, however many nouns follow
Neither of the reports is complete
Words in between: the nearest noun is a decoy
A prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb has no effect on the number, and every one of them is a trap laid for the ear. The box of files is heavy - the subject is the box, not the files.
Cross out the phrase and the agreement becomes audible again. That is the whole technique for this construction.
Error recognition · find the subject first
Choose the lettered segment that is not acceptable in formal written English.
Choose E if the sentence contains no error.
(A) for the whole quarter (B) The records (C) seems accurate (D) before the audit.
Afor the whole quarter
BThe records
Cseems accurate
Dbefore the audit
ENo error
A plural subject takes a plural verb. The subject requires a plural verb, so "seems" should be "seem". Find the subject first, then check the verb against it. The noun nearest the verb is often not the subject.
AThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
BThe subject itself is written correctly; look at the verb that agrees with it.
DThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
EThe sentence does contain an error, so this is not correct.
A number of, and the number of
These look identical and take opposite verbs. A number of means “several” and is plural: a number of applicants were reviewed. The number of names a single quantity and is singular: the number of applicants was small.
A number of · plural, despite how it reads
Choose the lettered segment that is not acceptable in formal written English.
Choose E if the sentence contains no error.
(A) A number of applicants (B) was reviewed (C) at the records section (D) before the audit.
AA number of applicants
Bwas reviewed
Cat the records section
Dbefore the audit
ENo error
A number of takes a plural verb, while the number of takes a singular verb. The subject requires a plural verb, so "was" should be "were". Find the subject first, then check the verb against it. The noun nearest the verb is often not the subject.
AThe subject itself is written correctly; look at the verb that agrees with it.
CThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
DThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
EThe sentence does contain an error, so this is not correct.
The same distinction governs a few others worth knowing: none takes either depending on what it stands for, and a majority of behaves like a number of.
Collective nouns
In Philippine and American usage a collective noun acting as one body is singular: the agency is, the committee has decided, the team was. British usage often takes the plural, which is why this construction feels genuinely uncertain to people who read widely - and why the exam sets it.
Collective noun · one body, singular verb
Choose the lettered segment that is not acceptable in formal written English.
Choose E if the sentence contains no error.
(A) The agency (B) are available (C) in the regional office (D) since the reorganisation.
AThe agency
Bare available
Cin the regional office
Dsince the reorganisation
ENo error
A collective noun acting as one body takes a singular verb. The subject requires a singular verb, so "are" should be "is". Find the subject first, then check the verb against it. The noun nearest the verb is often not the subject.
AThe subject itself is written correctly; look at the verb that agrees with it.
CThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
DThis phrase is grammatically acceptable and does not affect the agreement.
EThe sentence does contain an error, so this is not correct.
Either, neither, each, every
All singular, no matter how many nouns follow. Each of the offices has a copy.Neither of the reports is complete. The plural noun sitting right before the verb is the whole difficulty, and it is the same decoy as the prepositional phrase.
The exception worth knowing is either…or and neither…nor joining two subjects: the verb agrees with the nearer one. Neither the clerk nor the analysts are available.Neither the analysts nor the clerk is available. Same two people, different verb, because the order changed.
Two habits
Cross out the middle. Physically, with your pen, on the booklet. Everything between the subject and the verb goes, and what is left is a two-word sentence you can hear.
Check the other errors before choosing. This section is called error recognition, not agreement: a segment can be wrong for pronoun case, a misplaced modifier or a broken parallel instead. Finding an agreement error does not mean you have found the error until you have glanced at the rest.
Practising it
Grammar and error recognition practice generates fresh sentences in each construction above, with an explanation of what makes the segment wrong - which matters more here than in most formats, because “it sounds wrong” is not a reason you can apply to the next sentence.
The verbal section is also set in Filipino, where the analogous traps are different - ng and nang is the one worth learning properly, because it is decidable from the printed sentence and cannot be heard at all.