Question

Which sentence uses the correct subject-verb agreement?

• A. The books is on the shelf.
• B. The books are on the shelf.
• C. The book are on the shelf.
• D. The books was on the shelf.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The sentence must follow the rule of subject-verb agreement, which states that the verb must agree with the subject in number.

Here, the subject "books" is plural, so it requires the plural verb "are".

Let us examine each option:

Option (1): The books is on the shelf.
"Books" is a plural subject, but "is" is a singular verb.
Hence, this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

Option (2): The books are on the shelf.
"Books" is plural, and "are" is the correct plural verb.
Therefore, this sentence has the correct subject-verb agreement.

Option (3): The book are on the shelf.
"Book" is a singular subject, but "are" is a plural verb.
Hence, this sentence is incorrect.

Option (4): The books was on the shelf.
"Books" is plural, but "was" is the singular past tense form of the verb.
The correct past tense would be "were".
Hence, this sentence is incorrect.

Therefore, the correct sentence is: \[ \boxed{\text{The books are on the shelf.}} \] Hence, the correct answer is Option (2) – The books are on the shelf.