By Glyn Caddell, BSME · Author of Digital SAT Math Secrets · Tutoring since 2008 — Updated August 10, 2026
Verb-tense questions ask students to choose the correct form of a verb based on the subject, timing, and structure of the sentence. Students need to understand subject-verb agreement and how different verb forms are used. Verb-tense questions appear on approximately 8.2% of the Digital SAT Reading & Writing section. These questions fall under Standard English Conventions according to the College Board categories.
Verb-Tense Lesson
The lesson covers the types of verb-tense questions that show up on the Digital SAT.
What do Verb-Tense Questions Look Like?
These questions can be identified by looking at the answer choices. There will be different forms of the same verb.
For example, answer choices will look like this:
A) attests
B) has attested
C) is attesting
D) attest
However, the question itself will have the general prompt:
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Subject-Verb Agreement
A common concept tested on the Digital SAT is subject-verb agreement.
In general, singular subjects get a verb that ends in “s”, and plural subjects get a verb that doesn’t end in “s”.
| Singular subject | Plural subjects |
|---|---|
He runs She plays It moves | Athletes run They play Cars move |
Remove Descriptive Language to Identify the Correct Subject
Sometimes the subject is very far from the verb, often separated by descriptive language. Remove the descriptive language to check for subject-verb agreement.
For example, in the sentence:
J.K. Rowling, an acclaimed author of a popular book series, is open about having been on welfare until her mid-thirties.
the word “series” is right before the verb “is”, so it might seem like there is an error. It might seem like “is” should be changed to “are”.
Remove the descriptive language: an acclaimed author of a popular book series.
Examine the sentence without the descriptive language:
J.K. Rowling is open about having been on welfare until her mid-thirties.
It should be more clear now that the subject is “J.K. Rowling”, so “is” is correct.
Ignore the Words After "Of" When Finding the Subject
When checking subject-verb agreement, remember that objects of prepositions are NOT the subjects.
That terminology may seem confusing, so I’ll explain it without the terminology.
On the test, you might see something like this:
[singular subject] of the [plural noun] …
OR
[singular subject] of [plural noun] …
The noun before the “of” is the subject. When checking for subject-verb agreement, ignore the words after the “of”.
For example,
One of the students …
In this case, “one” is the subject, so the verb should match the singular subject: one.
One of the students wants to study after school. (One … wants)
As opposed to if “students” was the subject:
Students want to study after school.
Other Prepositions
The same applies to prepositions other than “of”. The same applies to “in”, “with”, and “along with”. However, “of” is the most common on the Digital SAT.
Compound Subjects are Treated Like "They"
If two subjects are joined with “and”, the two subjects are treated like a plural subject (they).
For example,
Mike and Lisa are going to the store.
(Treat “Mike and Lisa” like “They”)
The same holds true for subjects that aren’t people. For example,
Alana is a great soccer player because her speed and ball-handling allow her to get past defenders.
(“speed and ball-handling” are treated like “they”)
Correct Verb Tense is Based on Context
In most cases, the verb tense should remain the same throughout the text, unless there is a reason to change it.
When to Use Has/Have Before a Verb
When a past-tense verb is used by itself, it is normally to state something that happened in the past. When has/have are used before a verb it links the verb to the present moment.
For example:
I ate pancakes. (Just stating that you had pancakes at some point in the past)
I have eaten pancakes. (Saying that you have done something before, probably after someone asked if you ever ate pancakes before)
Most of the time on the Digital SAT, the time to use has/have is when something was done in the past but could be done again or can continue up to this time.
For example,
Henry Ford was a great entrepreneur. (In this case was is used by itself because it happened in the past and can’t be true today since he is no longer alive)
Michael has been a fan of the Ford Mustang since he was twelve. (He was a fan since he was twelve and can still be a fan today)
Example
In her analysis of political satire, literary scholar Naomi Fischer ______ that humor often serves as a means of criticizing social institutions without directly confronting them. Her interpretation has influenced numerous later studies of satire and rhetoric.
A) argued
B) argues
C) had argued
D) arguing
Video Explanation
Text Explanation
Answer: B) argues
The sentence discusses Fischer’s analysis as an interpretation that remains relevant in the present, so the SAT convention is to use the simple present tense when describing literary or scholarly analysis. Therefore, “argues” is correct.
- A) argued → incorrect because the passage focuses on an ongoing interpretation rather than a completed historical action.
- C) had argued → incorrect because there is no later past event requiring the past perfect tense.
- D) arguing → incorrect because it is a participle, not a complete main verb.
Practice Problems with Video Explanations
Here is a set of practice Digital SAT verb-tense practice problems. After selecting an answer, press “See Answer” to see the correct answer and a video explanation showing how to properly solve the questions. At the end of the set, after you press “Submit”, you’ll be able to see all of the questions, answers, and video explanations to review.
For more practice like this, enroll in our on-demand SAT prep course here: https://caddellprep.com/sat/prep/on-demand/
Related Topics
Pronouns and transitions are topics related to verb-tense.
Pronouns
Verb-tense questions are related to pronoun questions because both require students to carefully identify the subject or noun being discussed. In pronoun questions, students need to determine which noun a pronoun refers to. In verb-tense questions, students often need to identify the subject before choosing the correct verb form. Therefore, practicing pronoun questions can help students become more careful when analyzing sentence structure.
Transitions
Verb-tense questions are related to transition questions because both require students to understand how ideas fit together in a sentence or paragraph. In some verb-tense questions, students need to use clues from surrounding sentences to determine whether an action happened in the past, is happening now, or will happen in the future. Transition questions also require students to pay attention to the relationship between ideas. Therefore, practicing transition questions can help students better use context when answering verb-tense questions.
All Reading & Writing Topics
All of our reading & writing topics are available here: https://caddellprep.com/sat/reading-writing/ for you to review and improve on your SAT. There are lessons, practice problems, and video explanations for you. If you need more help, try our on-demand SAT course with video lessons, practice tests, and sets of questions for each topic: https://caddellprep.com/sat/prep/on-demand/
Glyn Caddell
Glyn Caddell holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT and has been tutoring New York City students since 2008. He founded Caddell Prep in 2012 and is the author of Digital SAT Math Secrets: Lessons & Tricks to Quickly Improve to a Perfect 800 on the Math Test, which contains over 900 practice problems and is used in Caddell Prep’s SAT math classes. He is founding president of the Staten Island Technical High School alumni association and teaches every lesson on this site personally.
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