Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

Subject-verb agreement is the single most tested rule in SBI Clerk error spotting, and the fix is always the same: the verb must match the real subject in number, not the noun sitting closest to it. Answer first, then confirm — find the true subject, decide singular or plural, and check the verb agrees. Most planted errors hide the subject behind a phrase so your ear grabs the wrong noun. Train yourself to bracket that phrase away and the correct verb becomes obvious in seconds.

Find the Real Subject First

The subject is never inside a prepositional phrase, so cross out any 'of the', 'along with', 'as well as' or 'together with' group before you judge the verb. In 'The box of chocolates is on the table', the subject is box, not chocolates, so the verb stays singular. These interrupting phrases are the exam's favourite trap because the noun next to the verb pulls your ear the wrong way. Remove the phrase, expose the head noun, and the agreement decides itself.

Either, Neither, Each, Every

Words like each, every, either, neither, everyone, someone and nobody are always singular and take a singular verb, however plural the sentence feels. 'Each of the students has a book' is correct, not have. With 'either...or' and 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the noun nearer to it, so 'Neither the manager nor the clerks were present' is right because clerks is closer. Memorising this short list removes a whole family of errors instantly.

Collective Nouns and 'And' Subjects

A collective noun such as team, jury, committee or family takes a singular verb when it acts as one unit, which is how SBI Clerk almost always uses it. Two subjects joined by 'and' are plural and take a plural verb, but when the two nouns name one idea — 'Bread and butter is my breakfast' — the verb stays singular. The exam loves the 'and' rule because candidates apply plural automatically without noticing the two nouns describe a single thing.

Solved Examples

Example 1: 'The list of candidates were sent late.' The subject is list, singular, so the verb must be was. Corrected: 'The list of candidates was sent late.'

Example 2: 'Each of the players have a jersey.' Each is singular, so the verb must be has. Corrected: 'Each of the players has a jersey.'

✗ The bunch of keys are missing  |  ✓ The bunch of keys is missing

The Speed Shortcut

Under exam time you cannot parse every clause, so use a two-step reflex that clears most agreement questions in under fifteen seconds. Step one: run a mental finger over the underlined verb and jump backwards past any phrase starting with of, with, along with or as well as until you hit a bare noun — that noun is your subject. Step two: ask only 'one or many?' and force the verb to match. If the subject is each, every, either or neither used alone, override your ear and choose singular. This reflex beats grammatical analysis because it targets exactly where the paper hides the trap. Practise it on ten sentences and it becomes automatic, freeing seconds for the harder tense and preposition questions later in the section.