Subject–Verb Agreement & Verb Tenses: 20 New PTE Practice Sets
Simple to Tough — Sets 37–56
These
20 sets blend Subject–Verb Agreement
and Verb Tenses, because PTE Reading & Writing:
Fill in the Blanks can require you to identify both the true
subject and the time frame
before selecting the correct verb.
The
Golden Rules
Subject–Verb Agreement
- Singular subjects — He, She, It, the government,
research, a student → singular verbs: works,
goes, has.
- Plural subjects — They, researchers, students
→ plural verbs: work,
go, have.
- Watch for tricky singular subjects: everyone,
nobody, each, either, news, mathematics.
- Collective nouns such as team,
committee, government, public are commonly treated as
singular when referring to the group as one unit.
Verb Tenses
- Present Simple: Facts, habits, and general truths → Water
boils.
- Present Perfect: Past actions connected to the present → has/have
+ past participle.
- Past Simple: Completed actions at a definite past time → worked, went, saw.
- Future: Actions expected to happen → will
+ base verb.
Set
37 — Simple
Passage:
The
quality of our products (1) ______ (remain / remains / remaining) our top
priority. We (2) ______ (conduct / conducts / conducting) regular inspections
to ensure this standard. Last year, the company (3) ______ (invest / invests /
invested) heavily in new testing equipment. Currently, the management team (4)
______ (review / reviews / reviewing) the latest batch of samples.
Answers:
1.
remains
— The subject is "quality," which is singular.
2.
conduct
— "We" is plural.
3.
invested
— "Last year" signals the past.
4.
reviews
— "Team" is a singular collective noun here.
Set
38 — Simple
Passage:
The
news about the economic crisis (1) ______ (spread / spreads / spreading)
quickly across social media. Many citizens (2) ______ (worry / worries /
worrying) about their job security. Yesterday, the central bank (3) ______
(announce / announces / announced) an emergency interest rate cut. Experts now
(4) ______ (believe / believes / believing) that this will stabilize the
markets.
Answers:
1.
spreads
— "News" is singular.
2.
worry
— "Citizens" is plural.
3.
announced
— "Yesterday" indicates the past.
4.
believe
— "Experts" is plural.
Set
39 — Simple
Passage:
The
university library (1) ______ (open / opens / opened) at 8 AM every weekday.
Students frequently (2) ______ (use / uses / using) the quiet study areas on
the top floor. Last semester, the administration (3) ______ (extend / extends /
extended) the opening hours until midnight. Currently, they (4) ______ (consider
/ considers / considering) making the library accessible 24/7.
Answers:
1.
opens
— "Library" is singular and the sentence describes a regular
schedule.
2.
use
— "Students" is plural.
3.
extended
— "Last semester" indicates the past.
4.
consider
— "They" is plural.
Set
40 — Simple
Passage:
Mathematics
(1) ______ (be / is / are) a subject that many students find challenging. Every
student in the advanced class (2) ______ (need / needs / needing) to complete a
major project. The teacher (3) ______ (give / gives / gave) them extra
resources last week. Currently, most of the class (4) ______ (work / works /
working) on their individual research topics.
Answers:
1.
is
— "Mathematics" is singular.
2.
needs
— "Every student" is singular.
3.
gave
— "Last week" indicates the past.
4.
work
— Here, "class" refers to the individual students.
Set
41 — Medium
Passage:
The
rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (1) ______ (have / has / had) transformed
many industries. Companies worldwide now (2) ______ (adopt / adopts / adopting)
AI solutions to automate routine tasks. Three years ago, this technology (3)
______ (cost / costs / costed) significantly more than it does today.
Currently, researchers (4) ______ (focus / focuses / focusing) on making AI
systems more transparent and ethical.
Answers:
1.
has
— The subject is "advancement," which is singular.
2.
adopt
— "Companies" is plural.
3.
cost
— The past tense of "cost" is also cost.
4.
focus
— "Researchers" is plural.
Set
42 — Medium
Passage:
Neither
the manager nor her assistants (1) ______ (is / are / was) available for
comment at this time. The board of directors (2) ______ (meet / meets /
meeting) every quarter to review performance. Last year, they (3) ______
(approve / approves / approved) a new budget for marketing. The CEO (4) ______
(believe / believes / believed) that this budget will double their market share
within two years.
Answers:
1.
are
— With neither...nor, the verb generally agrees with the
nearer subject, "assistants."
2.
meets
— "Board" is treated as singular here.
3.
approved
— "Last year" signals the past.
4.
believes
— "CEO" is singular.
Set
43 — Medium
Passage:
The
environmental impact of plastic bottles (1) ______ (concern / concerns /
concerning) many activists. These activists frequently (2) ______ (organize /
organizes / organizing) beach clean-up events. Recently, the government (3)
______ (introduce / introduces / introduced) a ban on single-use plastics.
Since that ban, the amount of waste on beaches (4) ______ (decrease / decreases
/ has decreased) significantly.
Answers:
1.
concerns
— The subject is "impact," which is singular.
2.
organize
— "Activists" is plural.
3.
introduced
— The action is presented as completed.
4.
has
decreased — "Amount" is singular and
"since" connects the past to the present.
Set
44 — Medium
Passage:
Each
of the candidates (1) ______ (possess / possesses / possessing) unique
qualifications for this position. The hiring committee (2) ______ (plan / plans
/ planning) to make a final decision by next Friday. Yesterday, they (3) ______
(conduct / conducts / conducted) the final round of interviews. The successful
applicant (4) ______ (start / starts / started) his or her new role on the
first of next month.
Answers:
1.
possesses
— "Each" is singular.
2.
plans
— "Committee" is singular here.
3.
conducted
— "Yesterday" indicates the past.
4.
starts
— Present simple can be used for a scheduled future event.
Set
45 — Medium
Passage:
Public
trust in traditional media (1) ______ (decline / declines / has declined)
steadily over the past decade. Many people now (2) ______ (turn / turns /
turning) to independent podcasts for their news. Five years ago, these same
podcasts (3) ______ (have / has / had) a tiny fraction of their current
audience. Today, they (4) ______ (represent / represents / representing) a
major force in political discourse.
Answers:
1.
has
declined — "Trust" is singular and
"over the past decade" connects the past with the present.
2.
turn
— "People" is plural.
3.
had
— "Five years ago" indicates the past.
4.
represent
— "They" is plural.
Set
46 — Medium
Passage:
Everyone
in the research department (1) ______ (know / knows / knowing) about the new
project. The scientists (2) ______ (have / has / having) been working on it for
three months. Last week, they (3) ______ (encounter / encounters / encountered)
a major technical problem. Nevertheless, the team (4) ______ (remain / remains
/ remained) optimistic about finding a solution soon.
Answers:
1.
knows
— "Everyone" is singular.
2.
have
— "Scientists" is plural and forms the present perfect continuous
with "been working."
3.
encountered
— "Last week" indicates the past.
4.
remains
— "Team" is treated as a singular unit here.
Set
47 — Medium
Passage:
Global
temperatures (1) ______ (rise / rises / rising) at an alarming rate. This
phenomenon (2) ______ (cause / causes / causing) extreme weather events around
the world. In 2019, record-breaking heatwaves (3) ______ (strike / strikes /
struck) several European countries. Scientists currently (4) ______ (analyze /
analyzes / analyzing) data from that year to predict future trends.
Answers:
1.
rise
— "Temperatures" is plural.
2.
causes
— "Phenomenon" is singular.
3.
struck
— "Strike" has the past form "struck."
4.
analyze
— "Scientists" is plural.
Set
48 — Medium
Passage:
The
number of international students applying to US universities (1) ______
(decline / declines / has declined) recently. Many factors (2) ______
(contribute / contributes / contributing) to this trend. For instance, stricter
visa policies (3) ______ (make / makes / made) it harder to study abroad.
However, the situation (4) ______ (improve / improves / is improving) slowly
this year.
Answers:
1.
has
declined — "The number" is singular.
2.
contribute
— "Factors" is plural.
3.
make
— "Policies" is plural.
4.
is
improving — "Situation" is singular
and the action is ongoing.
Set 49 — Tough
Passage:
The
administration, along with the faculty members, (1) ______ (support / supports
/ supporting) the new curriculum reform. A significant portion of the student
body, however, (2) ______ (object / objects / objecting) to the changes. When
the plan was first proposed last June, nobody (3) ______ (foresee / foresees /
foresaw) such strong opposition. Currently, both sides (4) ______ (negotiate /
negotiates / negotiating) to reach a compromise.
Answers:
1.
supports
— The main subject is "administration"; "along with the faculty
members" does not change agreement.
2.
objects
— The head noun "portion" is singular.
3.
foresaw
— "Last June" indicates the past.
4.
negotiate
— "Both sides" is plural.
Set 50 — Tough
Passage:
Either
the CEO or her senior executives (1) ______ (attend / attends / attending) the
international summit next week. The outcome of these meetings (2) ______
(determine / determines / determining) the company's direction for the next
decade. Last year's summit (3) ______ (lead / leads / led) to several
profitable partnerships. Since then, the company's stock price (4) ______
(increase / increases / has increased) by nearly 40%.
Answers:
1.
attend
— With either...or, the verb generally agrees with the
nearer subject, "executives," which is plural.
2.
determines
— The subject is "outcome," which is singular.
3.
led
— "Last year's summit" refers to a completed past event.
4.
has
increased — "Stock price" is singular
and "since then" calls for present perfect.
Set 51 — Tough
Passage:
The
phenomenon of black holes (1) ______ (fascinate / fascinates / fascinating)
both physicists and astronomers alike. The data collected from the recent
telescope array (2) ______ (provide / provides / providing) unprecedented
insights. Three years ago, scientists (3) ______ (capture / captures /
captured) the first-ever image of a black hole. Since that historic event,
public interest in astrophysics (4) ______ (surge / surges / has surged)
enormously.
Answers:
1.
fascinates
— "Phenomenon" is singular.
2.
provides
— Here, "data" is treated as an uncountable mass noun.
3.
captured
— "Three years ago" indicates the past.
4.
has
surged — "Interest" is singular and
"since" signals a connection with the present.
Set 52 — Tough
Passage:
Every
one of the experimental subjects (1) ______ (show / shows / showing) a positive
response to the new drug. The research team (2) ______ (believe / believes /
believing) this is a major breakthrough. They (3) ______ (publish / publishes /
published) their preliminary findings in a peer-reviewed journal last month.
Currently, they (4) ______ (conduct / conducts / conducting) a second trial to
confirm their results.
Answers:
1.
shows
— "Every one" is singular.
2.
believes
— "Team" is treated as singular here.
3.
published
— "Last month" indicates the past.
4.
conduct
— "They" is plural.
Set 53 — Tough
Passage:
Not
only the students but also the professor (1) ______ (feel / feels / feeling)
that the exam was unfair. The university's grading policies (2) ______ (require
/ requires / requiring) a standard curve for all final exams. When the scores
were posted last Friday, many students (3) ______ (complain / complains /
complained) loudly. Since then, the administration (4) ______ (agree / agrees /
has agreed) to review the entire grading process.
Answers:
1.
feels
— With not only...but also, agreement follows the nearer
subject, "professor."
2.
require
— "Policies" is plural.
3.
complained
— "Last Friday" indicates the past.
4.
has
agreed — "Administration" is singular and
"since then" calls for present perfect.
Set 54 — Tough
Passage:
The
economic policies of the current administration (1) ______ (face / faces /
facing) intense scrutiny from the media. Unemployment, along with inflation,
(2) ______ (remain / remains / remaining) a key concern for voters. The
government (3) ______ (announce / announces / announced) a new stimulus package
earlier this year. Since its release, the package (4) ______ (spark / sparks /
has sparked) both praise and criticism.
Answers:
1.
face
— The main subject is "policies," which is plural.
2.
remains
— The main subject is "unemployment"; "along with
inflation" is additional information.
3.
announced
— The action is presented as completed earlier this year.
4.
has
sparked — "Package" is singular and
"since" connects the past with the present.
Set 55 — Very Tough
Passage:
Neither
the detailed reports nor the summary document (1) ______ (contain / contains /
containing) the updated statistics. Twenty percent of the collected data (2)
______ (be / is / are) currently unusable due to technical errors. Last week,
the IT department (3) ______ (resolve / resolves / resolved) the main issue.
However, they (4) ______ (recover / recovers / have not recovered) all the
corrupted files yet.
Answers:
1.
contains
— The nearest subject is "summary document," which is singular.
2.
is
— "Data" is treated as an uncountable noun here.
3.
resolved
— "Last week" indicates the past.
4.
have
not recovered — "They" is plural and
"yet" commonly signals present perfect in this context.
Set 56 — Very Tough
Passage:
The
aesthetics of the new building (1) ______ (divide / divides / dividing)
architectural critics. Some say its design (2) ______ (represent / represents /
representing) the future of urban architecture. Last decade, a similar
structure (3) ______ (erect / erects / was erected) in Singapore to much
acclaim. Currently, that building (4) ______ (attract / attracts / attracting)
millions of tourists annually.
Answers:
1.
divide
— "Aesthetics" is plural in this sense, referring to the visual
qualities of the building.
2.
represents
— "Design" is singular.
3.
was
erected — This requires the past passive because the
structure received the action.
4.
attracts
— "Building" is singular and "annually" describes a regular
occurrence.
Additional Mixed Practice
Set
57 — Articles + Subject–Verb Agreement + Tenses
Passage:
(1)
______ (A / An / The) unprecedented number of startups (2) ______ (emerge /
emerges / emerging) in the tech sector annually. Each of these companies (3)
______ (hope / hopes / hoping) to become the next unicorn. Last year, investors
(4) ______ (pour / pours / poured) over $100 billion into these ventures. Since
then, the market (5) ______ (become / becomes / has become) much more cautious.
Answers:
1.
An
— The article comes before "unprecedented," which begins with a vowel
sound.
2.
emerge
— "Startups" is plural.
3.
hopes
— "Each" is singular.
4.
poured
— "Last year" indicates the past.
5.
has
become — "Market" is singular and
"since then" signals present perfect.
Set
58 — Articles + Subject–Verb Agreement + Tenses
Passage:
(1)
______ (A / An / The) research conducted by the university (2) ______ (suggest
/ suggests / suggesting) that meditation improves focus. The majority of
participants in the study (3) ______ (report / reports / reporting) reduced
stress levels after eight weeks. However, the scientists (4) ______
(acknowledge / acknowledges / acknowledged) that the sample size was too small
when they published their results last year. They currently (5) ______ (design
/ designs / designing) a larger, more comprehensive trial.
Answers:
1.
The
— The research is specific because it was conducted by the university.
2.
suggests
— "Research" is an uncountable singular noun.
3.
report
— Here, "majority" refers to plural participants.
4.
acknowledged
— "Last year" indicates the past.
5.
design
— "They" is plural and "currently" indicates a present
activity.
Set 59 — Ultimate Challenge
Passage:
(1)
______ (A / An / The) ethics of artificial intelligence (2) ______ (remain /
remains / remaining) a hotly debated topic in academic circles. Neither the
tech giants nor the government (3) ______ (have / has / having) established
clear regulations yet. Earlier this year, the EU (4) ______ (propose / proposes
/ proposed) a draft framework for AI governance. Since then, experts from
various fields (5) ______ (contribute / contributes / have contributed) their
perspectives to the ongoing discussion. The final version of (6) ______ (a / an
/ the) framework is expected to be ratified by the end of 2024.
Answers:
1.
The
— "The ethics of artificial intelligence" refers to a specific
field/topic.
2.
remain
— Here, "ethics" refers to ethical principles/issues and is treated
as plural.
3.
has
— With neither...nor, the verb agrees with the nearer
subject, "government."
4.
proposed
— "Earlier this year" refers to a completed past action in this
sentence.
5.
have
contributed — "Experts" is plural and
"since then" calls for present perfect.
6.
the
— This refers back to the specific framework already mentioned.
Final Pro-Tips for PTE
|
Clue to Look For |
What It Tells You |
Your Action |
|
Time markers (yesterday,
last year, since, currently, next week) |
The
likely verb tense |
Match
the verb to the time frame. |
|
Prepositional phrases (of the
data, along with his team) |
They
usually do not determine agreement |
Find
the true/main subject. |
|
Collective nouns (team,
committee, government, public) |
Usually
singular when acting as one unit |
Choose
the singular verb when appropriate. |
|
Indefinite pronouns (everyone,
each, neither, either) |
Generally
singular |
Choose
a singular verb. |
|
Words ending in -ics (mathematics,
physics, economics) |
Usually
singular subjects |
Use
a singular verb. |
|
"The number" vs.
"A number" |
The number = singular; a
number = plural |
Match
the verb accordingly. |
|
"Since" + a past
time/event |
Often
signals present perfect |
Use
has/have + past participle. |
|
Either...or / Neither...nor |
Agreement
generally follows the nearer subject |
Look
immediately before the verb. |
|
Not only...but also |
Agreement
generally follows the nearer subject |
Identify
the closest subject. |
|
Along with / together with / as
well as |
Extra
information, not the main subject |
Ignore
the added phrase when choosing the verb. |
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