Subject-Verb Agreement — #1 Grammar Rule

The SAT loves hiding the subject far from the verb and adding distracting phrases in between.

The Trick: "The collection of rare stamps is valuable."

NOT "are" — the subject is "collection" (singular), not "stamps."

Common traps:

1. Prepositional phrases — "The results of the experiment show..." (results = plural)

2. Relative clauses — "The student who studies for all her exams earns..." (student = singular)

3. Compound subjects — "Neither the teacher nor the students were..." (students = closer noun, plural)

Rule: Cross out everything between the subject and verb. Read just subject + verb. Does it agree? That's your answer.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Subject-Verb Agreement

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject%E2%80%93verb_agreement