ACT English: Grammar — Subject-Verb Agreement, Pronouns and Verb Tense

TL;DR

Mastering ACT English grammar means knowing how subjects and verbs match, pronouns refer clearly, and verb tenses are consistent. These three areas cover a huge chunk of the grammar questions you'll face. Pay close attention to singular/plural forms and logical relationships in sentences.

1. The Mental Model

Think of a sentence as a team. Every player (word) has a specific role, and they all need to work together smoothly. When it comes to grammar, you're looking for inconsistencies in how players interact – especially between subjects and verbs, pronouns and the nouns they replace, and how actions are sequenced in time.

2. The Core Material

The ACT English test loves to check your understanding of core grammatical relationships. Let's break down the big three.

Subject-Verb Agreement

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The fundamental rule: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Sounds simple, but the ACT hides the subject from the verb with extra phrases.

Singular Subjects & Verbs:
* He runs fast.
* The book is on the table.
* Each of the students has a pen. (The subject is "Each," which is singular).

Plural Subjects & Verbs:
* They run fast.
* The books are on the table.
* Many of the students have pens. (The subject is "Many," which is plural).

Common Traps:
1. Prepositional Phrases: Words like "of," "in," "with," "along with," "as well as" introduce phrases that don't change the subject.
* Incorrect: The dog, along with its puppies, are playing.
* Correct: The dog, along with its puppies, is playing. (The subject is "dog").
2. Indefinite Pronouns: Some are always singular (each, either, neither, one, nobody, somebody, everybody, no one, someone, everyone, anything, something, everything). Some are always plural (both, few, many, several). Some can be either (all, any, none, most, some), depending on what they refer to.
* Correct: Each of the cars has an alarm.
* Correct: Most of the water is gone. (water is singular)
* Correct: Most of the students are here. (students are plural)
3. "Here is/are" and "There is/are": The subject comes after the verb.
* Incorrect: There is many reasons.
* Correct: There are many reasons.

graph TD
    A["Identify the Subject"] --> B{Is it singular or plural?};
    B -- Singular --> C["Use a Singular Verb"];
    B -- Plural --> D["Use a Plural Verb"];
    C --> E["Check for Tricky Phrases"];
    D --> E;
    E --> F["Prepositional Phrases (ignore them)"];
    E --> G["Indefinite Pronouns (know which are which)"];
    E --> H[""There is/are" & "Here is/are" (subject follows verb)"];

Pronouns

Pronouns (like he, she, it, they, who, which) replace nouns. They need to agree with the noun they replace (called the antecedent) in number (singular/plural) and gender (masculine/feminine/neuter). They also need clear antecedents.

Agreement:
* The student finished his homework. (Singular, masculine)
* The students finished their homework. (Plural)
* Each student should bring his or her own lunch. (Or "their" if gender isn't specified or for inclusivity, but ACT usually prefers "his or her" for "each.")

Clarity (Ambiguous Antecedents):
* Ambiguous: When John told Mark that he had won, he was thrilled. (Who is "he" in both cases?)
* Clear: When John told Mark that Mark had won, John was thrilled. (Rewording helps.)

Pronoun Cases (less common, but still appear):
* Subjective: (I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who) - perform the action.
* She went to the store.
* Objective: (me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom) - receive the action.
* The dog chased him.
* Possessive: (my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose) - show ownership.
* That is her book.

Tip: For "who" vs. "whom," try replacing with "he/him" or "she/her." If "he/she" fits, use "who." If "him/her" fits, use "whom."
* Who ate the cake? (He ate the cake.)
* To whom did you give the gift? (You gave the gift to him.)

Verb Tense

Verb tense shows when an action happened. The key is consistency and logical sequencing. Don't jump between past, present, and future unless there's a good reason.

Common Tenses:
* Simple Present: I run. (habitual action, facts)
* Simple Past: I ran. (completed action)
* Simple Future: I will run. (action to happen)
* Present Perfect: I have run. (action started in past, continues or is relevant now)
* Past Perfect: I had run. (action completed before another past action)
* Future Perfect: I will have run. (action completed before a future time)

Consistency is King:
* Incorrect: Sarah walked to the store, and then she buys some milk. (Past then present)
* Correct: Sarah walked to the store, and then she bought some milk. (Consistent past)

Logical Sequencing:
Sometimes, a shift in tense is necessary to show the order of events.
* Before he went to bed, he had brushed his teeth. (Brushing happened before going to bed, so past perfect for the earlier action).

3. Worked Example

Let's look at a sentence that combines a few of these issues:

Original Sentence: "Many of the scientists, who was working on the project last year, believes that the data is inaccurate and they plans to re-examine all of it before its presented to the public."

Let's break it down:

1. "who was working": The antecedent for "who" is "scientists" (plural). So, the verb should be plural.

   • Correction: "who were working"

2. "scientists... believes": The subject is "scientists" (plural). The verb needs to agree.

   • Correction: "scientists... believe"

3. "the data is inaccurate": "Data" is technically plural (the singular is "datum"), though "data is" is increasingly common in informal English. On the ACT, treat "data" as plural.

   • Correction: "the data are inaccurate"

4. "they plans": The subject is "they" (plural). The verb needs to agree.

   • Correction: "they plan"

5. "before its presented": "Its" is a possessive pronoun ("the dog lost its bone"). The sentence needs "it's," a contraction of "it is."

   • Correction: "before it's presented"

Corrected Sentence: "Many of the scientists, who were working on the project last year, believe that the data are inaccurate and they plan to re-examine all of it before it's presented to the public."

4. Key Takeaways

• Always locate the true subject of a sentence before deciding on the verb's form.
• Prepositional phrases and "along with" constructions often distract from the real subject.
• Ensure pronouns clearly refer to their antecedents and agree in number.
• Maintain consistent verb tense throughout a sentence or paragraph unless showing a clear sequence of events.
• "Data" is typically treated as a plural noun on the ACT, requiring a plural verb.
• Differentiate between "its" (possessive) and "it's" (it is/it has).

Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- Forgetting that collective nouns (e.g., team, committee) can be singular or plural depending on context. (On ACT, usually singular: "The team is ready.")
- Misidentifying the subject when a phrase separates it from the verb.
- Using ambiguous pronouns that could refer to multiple nouns.
- Randomly shifting verb tenses without a logical reason.

5. Now Try It

Take a paragraph from any article or book you're reading. Go through each sentence and identify:
1. The subject and its corresponding verb. Check for agreement.
2. Any pronouns and their antecedents. Make sure they're clear and agree.
3. The verb tenses. Are they consistent or do they shift logically?

Your goal is to find at least one potential error or area for improvement in a paragraph of about 3-5 sentences. Success means you can clearly explain why a particular word choice is correct or incorrect based on these grammar rules. This exercise helps train your eye to spot these common ACT errors.