ELPAC Practice

Which sentence contains an error in subject-verb agreement? (The Saturday Shift)

Read a Student Essay · ELPAC Grades 9–10 reading. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.

An essay written as if by a classmate, with numbered sentences. The student finds the sentence containing the error.

Read the essay. Then answer the questions.

The Saturday Shift

  1. Last fall I signed up to volunteer at the food bank on Chestnut Avenue because my counselor said the hours would count toward graduation.
  2. I expected to spend the morning handing boxes to people, but the first thing the staff taught me was how to sort donations.
  3. A crate of canned goods has to be checked one can at a time for dents, rust and expiration dates.
  4. The list of items that the warehouse cannot accept were taped to the wall above the sorting table.
  5. At first I asked the supervisor about almost every can, which slowed the whole line down.
  6. By my third Saturday I could finish a crate in about six minutes without asking anyone.
  7. The warehouse was cold, and by noon my fingers were stiff enough that I had trouble writing the tally.
  8. What surprised me most was how much food is thrown away for small reasons.
  9. A dented can is usually safe, but the food bank cannot hand it out, because a dent can hide a crack in the seam.
  10. I understand that rule now, although it bothered me for the first month.
  11. The boxes we packed that morning went families living within three miles of the warehouse.
  12. I am going back in January, and this time I will be the one training the new volunteers.

The question

Choose the best answer.

Which sentence contains an error in subject-verb agreement?

  • Sentence 3: “A crate of canned goods has to be checked one can at a time for dents, rust and expiration dates.”
  • Sentence 4: “The list of items that the warehouse cannot accept were taped to the wall above the sorting table.”Correct answer
  • Sentence 8: “What surprised me most was how much food is thrown away for small reasons.”
  • Sentence 9: “A dented can is usually safe, but the food bank cannot hand it out, because a dent can hide a crack in the seam.”

Why “Sentence 4: “The list of items that the warehouse cannot accept were taped to the wall above the sorting table.”” is correct

This tests agreement across a long separation between subject and verb, the version of the error that survives into high school writing. The subject of sentence 4 is the singular 'list', so the verb should be 'was taped'; the plural 'items' sits closer to the verb and pulls the writer toward 'were'. Sentence 3 sets the same trap the other way round, with the plural 'canned goods' sitting right before the singular 'has', yet it is correct because 'crate' is the subject. Sentences 8 and 9 have no such trap; their verbs simply agree with their subjects. Finding the subject first, rather than looking at the nearest noun, is what separates the key from sentence 3.

Why the other answers are wrong

  • Sentence 3: “A crate of canned goods has to be checked one can at a time for dents, rust and expiration dates.” — 'A crate ... has' is correct; 'canned goods' is inside a prepositional phrase and does not govern the verb.
  • Sentence 8: “What surprised me most was how much food is thrown away for small reasons.” — 'What surprised me most was' is correct, although the noun clause subject makes it sound unusual.
  • Sentence 9: “A dented can is usually safe, but the food bank cannot hand it out, because a dent can hide a crack in the seam.” — Both 'a dented can is' and 'a dent can hide' agree with their singular subjects.

Practice more of this

More reading practice for Grades 9–10, or see the ELPAC practice test for grades 9–10. For other grades, see free ELPAC practice tests by grade.

This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the California Department of Education or the official ELPAC program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published task formats.