Choose the best option to complete each sentence, then check your answers.
A substantial body of empirical studies, alongside several recent policy documents, ___ that green taxes discourage industrial pollution without suppressing economic growth.
The singular head noun 'body' determines the verb form, so 'suggests' is required. Intervening phrases introduced by prepositions like 'alongside' or 'as well as' do not change the grammatical number of the subject, making the plural distractors incorrect.
Neither the lead researcher nor the statistical analysts ___ capable of identifying the underlying anomaly in the longitudinal dataset.
With correlative conjunctions like 'neither... nor...', the verb must agree with the nearer subject ('the statistical analysts'), which is plural. Therefore, 'were' is correct, whereas the singular options fail to follow proximity agreement.
Transforming historic city centers into pedestrian-only zones, despite initial objections from local business owners, ___ shown to increase overall retail turnover.
A gerund phrase functioning as a subject ('Transforming historic city centers...') is grammatically singular and requires 'has been'. Distractors like 'have been' or 'were' incorrectly agree with plural nouns inside the phrase such as 'centers' or 'owners'.
The number of high-skilled emigrants leaving developing nations to seek opportunities abroad ___ steadily rising over the past decade.
The phrase 'The number of...' takes a singular verb ('has been') because it refers to a specific total or figure. In contrast, 'A number of...' takes a plural verb, so plural options are grammatically wrong here.
Dr. Aris Thorne is one of those dedicated climatologists who ___ that global temperatures will breach critical thresholds before 2030.
In the construction 'one of those [plural noun] who...', the relative pronoun 'who' refers to the plural antecedent 'climatologists', requiring the plural verb 'argue'. The singular options incorrectly force agreement with 'one'.
Hidden within the complex structural framework of these sustainable skyscrapers ___ a network of advanced sensors monitoring real-time seismic stability.
This sentence uses an inverted structure where the real subject ('a network') appears after the verb. Because 'network' is singular, the verb must be 'lies', not plural forms like 'lie' or 'are lying'.
Each of the randomized clinical trials conducted across the three European facilities ___ subjected to rigorous peer review before publication.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'each' are grammatically singular regardless of any plural pre-modifiers or post-modifying phrases ('of the trials'), requiring the singular past verb 'was'.
Every one of the proposed solutions, including those submitted by external consultants, ___ substantial capital investment to be implemented effectively.
The subject head is 'Every one', which is strictly singular and demands 'requires'. Distractors like 'require' incorrectly agree with the plural object of the preposition ('solutions') or the parenthetical clause.
The rapid degradation of coral reefs, as well as the destruction of surrounding mangrove forests, ___ a severe threat to marine biodiversity.
The true subject of the clause is 'The rapid degradation', which is singular. Parenthetical phrases introduced by 'as well as' do not form a compound subject, so plural verbs like 'pose' or 'are posing' are incorrect.
Neither of the proposed merger agreements ___ the strict regulatory standards imposed by the fair competition commission.
When 'neither' is used as a standalone pronoun followed by 'of + plural noun', it takes a singular verb in standard formal English, making 'satisfies' the only correct choice.
Fifty million dollars ___ allocated to the urban renewal project last year, yet several planned facilities remain unfinished.
Expressions of total monetary amounts, time periods, and distances are treated as single unified quantities, taking a singular verb ('was'). Plural verbs like 'were' treat the sum as individual units, which is incorrect in this context.
Seldom ___ the findings of a single preliminary study warrant such immediate and sweeping policy revisions.
Negative adverbial fronting ('Seldom') triggers auxiliary-subject inversion. The plural subject 'the findings' requires the plural auxiliary verb 'do'; 'does' is singular and grammatically incorrect.
More than one executive board member ___ expressed serious reservations regarding the ethical implications of the acquisition.
Despite its plural meaning, the formal structure 'More than one + singular noun' strictly requires a singular verb ('has'). Plural distractors like 'have' violate this grammatical rule.
This experimental vaccine is the only one of the candidate treatments that ___ successfully passed all three clinical trial phases.
Unlike 'one of the [plural noun] that [plural verb]', the specific structure 'the only one of the [plural noun] that...' singles out a unique antecedent ('the only one'), demanding the singular verb 'has'.
What appears to be driving the surge in remote employment opportunities ___ the growing demand for flexible work-life balance.
A nominal relative 'what'-clause functioning as a subject takes a singular verb ('is') when followed by a singular predicate complement ('the growing demand').
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Subject-verb agreement is one of the most critical components of grammatical accuracy tested in the IELTS examination. Examiners carefully evaluate whether candidates can maintain correct agreement across complex sentence structures, lengthy post-modifiers, parenthetical phrases, and non-standard subjects. Mastering these rules is essential for securing a Band 7.0 or higher in Grammatical Range and Accuracy in both Academic Writing (Tasks 1 and 2) and Speaking.
Errors in subject-verb agreement often occur when distracting noun phrases sit between the real subject and the main verb, or when dealing with tricky constructions like correlative conjunctions, indefinite pronouns, inverted sentence structures, and nominal clauses. In the Listening and Reading modules, recognizing proper subject-verb structures also helps candidates process complex academic texts and avoid misinterpreting key information.
This practice test targets high-level agreement rules commonly encountered in academic contexts. By completing these exercises, you will sharpen your ability to identify the true grammatical head noun in dense academic prose, eliminating frequent errors and building confidence for test day.
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