Question

subject-verb agreement
subject - verb agreement means the subject and predicate in a sentence must agree in
number.

• subject: who or what the sentence is about
• predicate: what the subject is doing (action)

singular

• subject - does not end in \-s\
• verb - ends in \-s\

plural

• subject - ends in \-s\
• verb - does not end in \-s\

multiple singular subjects

• \and\ - plural verb form
• \or\ - verb should agree with the nearest subject

exceptions:

• collective nouns: words that act as a singular noun while representing a group
• indefinite pronouns: pronouns that do not explicitly denote a number of subjects
• some singular subjects end in the word s but are not plural. (e.g. \politics\)

which sentence has correct subject - verb agreement?
the pineapple were in the salad.
the tree is rotten on the inside.
the apple are in the pie.

Explanation:

• For "The pineapple were in the salad": "pineapple" is singular, but "were" is plural. Subject - verb agreement is wrong.
• For "The tree is rotten on the inside": "tree" is singular and "is" is singular. Subject - verb agreement is correct.
• For "The apple are in the pie": "apple" is singular, but "are" is plural. Subject - verb agreement is wrong.

Answer:

The tree is rotten on the inside.