Study on the flyACTEnglishSubject–verb agreement
English
Distance between a subject and its verb is what makes Subject–verb agreement hard.
In "The list of supplies is on the desk," the verb is agrees with list, not supplies, because a noun inside a prepositional phrase is never the subject. Other tricky cases include subjects joined by or or nor, where the verb agrees with the nearer noun, and sentences that begin with there, where the true subject follows the verb.
ACT English questions underline the verb and offer singular and plural versions, sometimes in different tenses too. Mentally crossing out the words between the subject and the verb is a reliable way to hear the correct match.
Pick an answer to see whether it is right — nothing is saved, and nothing needs an account.
[1] The Larkspur Oral History Archive once recorded every interview in a quiet room at city hall. [2] Later, it added a mobile recording van that travels to libraries and senior centers. [3] The studio produces cleaner audio, whereas the van reaches speakers who cannot easily travel downtown. [4] Before each trip, a coordinator calls the host site to confirm parking access, electrical outlets, and the number of scheduled speakers. [5] Technicians secure the microphones in padded cases and test the van’s battery so a weak power supply will not interrupt an interview.
The range of neighborhoods the van can visit allow1 the archive to document more voices. At a typical stop, staff reserve forty-five minutes for each speaker and leave time between appointments to label files and reset equipment. Interviewers invite residents to share personal recollections remembered from earlier decades. They begin with broad prompts about work, school, celebrations, and changes on a familiar street, then ask follow-up questions when a speaker mentions a person or place. The van travels to familiar community spaces. Recording interviews in a booth lined with acoustic panels. It also carries a compact editing desk, and supplies headphones for the interviewer and speaker.
Archivists interview residents with handwritten question lists who cannot travel downtown. Before a conversation begins, a technician records ten seconds of room tone and adjusts the microphone until both voices remain clear. A set of monitoring headphones are2 stored beside each microphone. During recording, the interviewer notes the time of names or events that may need spelling checks later. The van’s exterior is painted dark blue. Each recording receives their own file number before staff members create a searchable summary. Back at city hall, staff copy the audio to two storage drives, verify the speaker’s release form, and add keywords for neighborhoods, occupations, and dates. Researchers can then locate related interviews without listening through every file.
The studio remains useful for speakers who prefer its controlled setting, and the van extends the archive beyond city hall. Together, the two spaces let the archive preserve clear recordings without limiting whose memories can be included.
Question 1Easier
Which choice makes the sentence most grammatically acceptable?
Answer: C — allows
The subject’s head noun is the singular word “range”; “neighborhoods” appears inside a prepositional phrase. The singular verb “allows” is required.
Question 2Easier
Which choice best fits the sentence as written?
Answer: C — is
The subject is the singular noun phrase “A set of monitoring headphones,” not the plural noun “headphones.” The singular verb “is” agrees with “set.”
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