ACT Writing Verb Tense and Subject Verb Agreement Quiz

In this sentence, "gave" is the simple past tense of "give," which is appropriate because it describes an action that was completed in the past during the championship game yesterday. The other options do not fit the past context of the sentence.

In the sentence, "Neither... nor..." indicates a negative construction that treats the subjects as plural. Therefore, the verb should agree with the plural sense of the subjects, making "were" the appropriate choice. This ensures grammatical consistency and clarity in the sentence structure.

In this sentence, "data" is treated as a singular noun, which is why "shows" is the appropriate verb form. While "data" can be plural in some contexts, it is commonly used as a singular mass noun in everyday language, especially in American English. Hence, "shows" correctly agrees with the singular interpretation.

The sentence refers to an action that occurred in the past, indicated by the word "yesterday." Therefore, the past tense form of the verb "buy" is needed. "Bought" appropriately conveys that she completed the action of purchasing milk and bread on that previous day.

The use of "were" indicates that the committee's division on the proposal is in the past, aligning with the context of discussing an event that has occurred. "Holding" suggests that members are actively maintaining their differing positions, emphasizing ongoing disagreement. Together, they accurately reflect the committee's situation regarding the proposal.

In this sentence, "Either John or his siblings" indicates a choice between two subjects. Since "siblings" is plural, the verb must agree with this plural noun. Therefore, "are" is the appropriate choice to indicate that the responsibility of washing the dishes falls on either John or his siblings collectively.

In this sentence, "increases" is the appropriate choice because it fits the present tense structure of the statement. The phrase "number of applicants" is singular, so the verb must agree in number, making "increases" the correct form to indicate a current trend compared to last year.

The sentence requires the past tense to describe completed actions. "Found" indicates that she secured a job after her degree, while "worked" shows that she was employed in that position for a duration of five years. Both verbs correctly reflect the timeline of events.

The past tense "stood" indicates that the action of the audience rising to their feet occurred in the past, specifically when the performance ended. This aligns with the context of a completed event, emphasizing the audience's reaction at that moment.

In this sentence, "Every student and teacher" is treated as a singular collective subject. Therefore, the singular verb "is" agrees with the singular subject, indicating that each individual within the group must attend the assembly. Using "are," "were," or "have been" would incorrectly imply a plural subject.

In this sentence, "the majority" is treated as a singular noun, which requires a singular verb form. Therefore, "has been" is the appropriate choice to indicate that a significant portion of the budget for infrastructure improvements was allocated in the past and continues to be relevant.

In this context, "took" is the past tense of "take," matching the past action of studying, while "highlighted" is also in the past tense, indicating completed actions. Both verbs need to be in the same tense to maintain grammatical consistency, making "took, highlighted" the correct choice.