What this lesson covers
- The interrupter trick (cross out the prepositional phrase)
- A full SAT sentence with stacked interrupters
- The singular squad: each, either, neither, everyone
- Pronouns & collective nouns, two practice questions, three traps
Questions worked in the video
- 0:38The network of trails that wind through these mountains ___ maintained by volunteers.
- 1:01Neither of the proposals ___ feasible.
- 1:43The list of finalists ___ posted this afternoon.
- 2:02Neither of the telescopes ___ powerful enough to resolve the binary star.
Chapters
- 0:00The subject is hiding
- 0:19The interrupter trick
- 0:38Worked: stacked interrupters
- 1:01The singular squad
- 1:21Deeper: pronouns & collectives
- 1:43Practice 1
- 2:02Practice 2
- 2:22Three traps
- 2:40Recap
Lesson transcript
The narration of the video, word for word, under its chapter headings.
0:00The subject is hiding
Welcome to SAT Climb. Agreement questions — subject, verb, pronoun. The SAT hides the subject behind a wall of extra words and bets you'll match the verb to the wrong noun. Don't. Here's how to find the real subject every time.
0:19The interrupter trick
The core trick: interrupters. The collection of rare stamps is valuable. Subject: collection. Singular. But the SAT parks of rare stamps right before the verb, hoping stamps-are sounds right. Cross out the prepositional phrase, and the sentence tells you the truth.
0:38Worked: stacked interrupters
The full SAT version. The network of trails that wind through these mountains, blank, maintained by volunteers. Strip the interrupters: of trails — gone. That wind through these mountains — gone. The network is maintained. Singular subject, singular verb — no matter how many plural nouns crowd the middle.
1:01The singular squad
Memorize the singular squad: each, either, neither, everyone, every one of. Neither of the proposals is feasible. Neither is the subject, and it's singular — of the proposals is just another interrupter. Same with each of the players, everyone on both teams. Singular, singular, singular.
1:21Deeper: pronouns & collectives
Pronouns play the same game. A pronoun matches its antecedent — the noun it stands for — in number. The museum expanded its collection: museum is singular, so its, not their. And watch the collectives: the committee, the team, the orchestra. On the SAT, they take singular verbs and singular pronouns.
1:43Practice 1
Your turn. The list of finalists, blank, posted this afternoon. Find the subject first. Pause if you need more time. Subject: the list. Of finalists is the decoy. The list was posted. B.
2:02Practice 2
One more. Neither of the telescopes, blank, powerful enough to resolve the binary star. Remember the squad. Pause if you need it. Neither — singular squad. Neither of the telescopes is powerful enough. C.
2:22Three traps
Three traps. Matching the verb to the nearest noun instead of the subject — cross out the interrupter first. Forgetting the singular squad — each, either, neither, everyone. And letting a pronoun drift from its antecedent — the museum is an it, not a they.
2:40Recap
Agreement: solved. Find the subject, cross out the noise, match the number. Start free at satclimb.com.
Read the written version: the Form, Structure, and Sense strategy guide, then try 25 hard Form, Structure, and Sense questions with full explanations. Both are free, no account needed.