Subject-Verb Agreement: Collective Subject
Question
The team of researchers are presenting their findings at the conference next week.
Answer choices
- were
- have been
- is
- NO CHANGE
C Correct answer: C) is
The grammatical subject is "team," not "researchers." "Of researchers" is a prepositional phrase modifying "team," and prepositional phrases never contain the subject. Because "team" is treated as a single grammatical unit on the ACT, it requires the singular verb "is."
The other options either introduce a grammatical error or change the intended meaning. The ACT consistently rewards the most concise, grammatically correct option.
Read the sentence with each option substituted in. The version that preserves meaning while obeying the underlying rule is the correct answer; on the ACT, that is almost always the shortest option that still works.
The underlying rule
In American English, collective nouns acting as a single unit ("the team," "the committee," "the family") take a singular verb. The plural prepositional phrase "of researchers" is a distractor; it does not change the grammatical subject.
Why each wrong answer is wrong
- A) were: This is a plural verb form, but the grammatical subject "team" is singular under standard American usage on the ACT.
- B) have been: This is a plural verb form, but the grammatical subject "team" is singular under standard American usage on the ACT.
- D) NO CHANGE: This is a plural verb form, but the grammatical subject "team" is singular under standard American usage on the ACT.
Study tip
When the subject of a sentence is a collective noun (team, family, committee), cross out any prepositional phrase between it and the verb. What is left will tell you whether the verb should be singular or plural.
More Hard Grammar & Usage
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