What term refers to the rule that the subject and verb must agree in number?

• A. Subject-Verb Agreement
• B. Parallelism
• C. Pronoun-antecedent agreement
• D. Tense consistency

Answer: (A)

Subject-verb agreement is the rule that the verb must reflect the subject’s number. When the subject is singular, the verb takes a singular form; when the subject is plural, the verb takes a plural form. This keeps the sentence clear and grammatically consistent, as in “The cat sleeps” versus “The cats sleep.” The term that names this rule is subject-verb agreement, which directly describes the relationship being described between the subject and its verb.

Parallelism focuses on balancing parts of a sentence, such as ensuring items in a list have the same grammatical form. Pronoun-antecedent agreement deals with pronouns matching their antecedents in number (and gender). Tense consistency means staying in the same tense throughout a sentence or passage.