Business Communication · Essentials of Good English

Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement for CSEET

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

A tense shows when an action happens: present, past or future, each in simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous forms, giving twelve tenses. Subject-verb agreement means the verb matches its subject in number and person. To solve a question, find the true subject, decide the time, then choose the matching verb form.

Understand Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement

Every sentence has a subject (who or what does something) and a verb (the action or state). Two things must be right about the verb: its time and its match with the subject. The first is tense. The second is agreement.

There are three times: present, past and future. Each has four aspects. Simple states a fact, habit or completed action. Continuous shows an action in progress. Perfect links an action to another point in time, using have, has or had. Perfect continuous shows an action that has been going on for a period. Three times multiplied by four aspects gives twelve tenses.

A simple way to remember them: the helping verb tells you the time, and the ending or participle tells you the aspect. Continuous uses be + verb-ing. Perfect uses have + past participle. Perfect continuous uses have been + verb-ing.

The difference between present perfect and simple past is a favourite test. Use simple past when the time is finished and stated or clearly understood: "She joined the firm in 2022." Use present perfect when the time is not stated or the result matters now: "She has joined the firm." Words like yesterday, last year and in 2022 go with simple past, never with present perfect.

For agreement, a singular subject takes a singular verb (the company issues), and a plural subject takes a plural verb (the directors issue). The difficulty is finding the real subject when other words come in between, or when the subject is a pronoun like each, either or a phrase joined by or, nor and and.

Key rules to remember

Simple present: Subject + V1 (add s/es for he, she, it, singular noun); Habits and general facts: The Board meets every quarter.
Present continuous: Subject + am/is/are + V-ing; Action in progress now or planned: The auditors are reviewing the accounts.
Present perfect: Subject + has/have + V3; Completed action with present relevance, no finished time stated: I have sent the letter.
Present perfect continuous: Subject + has/have been + V-ing; Action started earlier and continuing, often with since or for.
Simple past: Subject + V2; Finished action at a finished time: He resigned last month.
Past continuous: Subject + was/were + V-ing; Action in progress at a past moment: We were drafting the minutes at noon.
Past perfect: Subject + had + V3; The earlier of two past actions: The meeting had begun when I arrived.
Past perfect continuous: Subject + had been + V-ing; Action continuing up to a past point.
Simple future: Subject + will/shall + V1; Future fact or decision: The report will be ready tomorrow.
Future continuous: Subject + will be + V-ing; Action in progress at a future time.
Future perfect: Subject + will have + V3; Action completed before a future time: She will have finished by 5 pm.
Future perfect continuous: Subject + will have been + V-ing; Action continuing up to a future point, usually with a duration.
Since and for: since + point in time; for + period of time; Used with perfect tenses: since 2020, for five years.
Basic agreement: Singular subject → singular verb; plural subject → plural verb; Ignore words between subject and verb: The list of items is long.
Subjects joined by and: A and B → plural verb; Exception: when both name one person or thing, use singular: Bread and butter is my breakfast.
Either/or, neither/nor: Verb agrees with the subject nearer to it; Neither the manager nor the clerks were present.
Each, every, either, neither, one, anyone, everyone: Take a singular verb; Each of the members has a vote.
Collective nouns: Singular when the group acts as one; plural when members act separately; The committee has decided. The committee are divided in their views.
Plural in form, singular in meaning: News, mathematics, physics, economics → singular verb; Economics is a social science.
Fixed plurals: Scissors, trousers, spectacles, police, cattle → plural verb; The police are investigating.

How to solve Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement questions

Use the same short method for fill-in-the-blank, error-spotting and rewriting questions.

1Read the whole sentence first. Do not decide from the words next to the blank.
2Find the verb and then the true subject. Cross out phrases beginning with of, along with, as well as, together with, in addition to.
3Decide whether the subject is singular or plural. Check for each, every, either, neither, collective nouns and and/or/nor links.
4Look for time clues: yesterday, last year, since, for, already, just, by the time, tomorrow. They fix the tense.
5Pick the tense that fits the clue. If two past actions are given, the earlier takes past perfect and the later takes simple past.
6Build the verb form using the pattern: helping verb + V1, V-ing or V3 as required.
7Re-read the finished sentence aloud in your head. Check that the subject, verb and time all agree.
8In a written answer, rewrite the whole corrected sentence and, if asked, name the rule in a few words.

Quickest way: Subject, clue, form: the 10-second check

When to use it: Use this for one-line correction or fill-in questions when time is short, especially in Question 1 style short items.

Underline the subject and ignore the words in between.
Circle the time clue word, if any.
Check the verb: does it match the subject in number? Does it match the clue in tense?
Memorise clue pairs: since/for → present perfect; yesterday/ago/last → simple past; by the time/before → past perfect; by next month → future perfect.
Remember that after if or when about the future, the verb stays in present: If he comes, I will go.

Common mistakes in Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement

Choosing the verb to match the noun just before it, as in "The list of items are ready."
The nearest noun (items) sounds like the subject.
Fix: Find the head noun. Here it is list, so write "The list of items is ready."
Using present perfect with a finished time: "I have met him yesterday."
Students link the past action with the present and forget the time word.
Fix: With yesterday, last week, in 2021 or ago, use simple past: "I met him yesterday."
Treating each, every, either and neither as plural: "Each of the partners have signed."
The word partners is plural and sits close to the verb.
Fix: These words are singular. Write "Each of the partners has signed."
Wrong verb with as well as, along with, together with: "The CEO, along with his team, are attending."
These phrases feel like and, so students make the subject plural.
Fix: They do not change the subject. Write "The CEO, along with his team, is attending."
Using will after if or when in a future condition: "If it will rain, we will cancel."
Students copy the future meaning into both clauses.
Fix: Use simple present in the if clause: "If it rains, we will cancel."
Using since with a period or for with a point: "for 2019", "since five years".
Both words translate to the same idea in many Indian languages.
Fix: Since goes with a starting point (since 2019). For goes with a length of time (for five years).

Worked examples

Example 1

Correct the errors, if any, and give the reason: (a) "The Board of Directors have approved the budget yesterday." (b) "Neither the manager nor the employees was present."

Show the solution

Sentence (a): the subject is Board, a collective noun acting as one body, so the verb is singular: has.
The time word yesterday shows a finished time, so simple past is needed, not present perfect. Use approved without has.
Corrected (a): "The Board of Directors approved the budget yesterday."
Sentence (b): the subjects are joined by neither...nor, so the verb agrees with the nearer subject, employees, which is plural.
Plural past form of be is were. Corrected (b): "Neither the manager nor the employees were present."

Answer: (a) The Board of Directors approved the budget yesterday. (b) Neither the manager nor the employees were present.

Example 2

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in brackets: (a) By the time the auditor arrived, the accountant (finish) the statements. (b) Ravi (work) in this company since 2018. (c) Each of the shareholders (receive) a notice.

Show the solution

(a) Two past actions are given. The finishing happened before the arrival, so the earlier action takes past perfect: had finished.
(b) Since 2018 is a starting point and the work continues, use present perfect or present perfect continuous: has been working (or has worked).
(c) Each is singular, so the verb is singular. Simple present fits a general fact: receives. If the notice was already sent, received also works in meaning, but the agreement rule is satisfied by a singular verb such as receives or has received.
Check each sentence by reading it whole: all three agree in number and fit the time clue.

Answer: (a) had finished (b) has been working (c) receives

Exam tips

In written Business Communication papers, rewrite the full corrected sentence, not just the changed word, and add a brief reason if the question asks for one.
Underline the subject and the time clue in the question paper before you write. It takes seconds and prevents most errors.
Learn the clue words for each tense by heart. Examiners often plant words like since, ago, already and by the time to point to one correct tense.
Keep the same tense through an answer unless the meaning clearly changes time, for example in letters, reports and the writing tasks.
Practise error-spotting with sentences where a phrase sits between subject and verb. This pattern appears often.

Practice questions from Essentials of Good English

Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement: frequently asked questions

How can I learn all 12 tenses easily?

Learn the pattern, not the list. Each time (present, past, future) has four forms: simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous. Memorise the four helping-verb patterns once, then change the time word, and write one sentence for each of the twelve.

What is the difference between present perfect and simple past?

Simple past is used for an action finished at a finished time, such as yesterday or in 2020. Present perfect is used when the time is not stated or when the action matters now, such as "I have finished the report." Never join present perfect with a finished time word.

What are the main subject-verb agreement rules to remember for CSEET?

Match the verb to the true subject, not the nearest noun. Treat each, every, either and neither as singular. With either/or and neither/nor, agree with the nearer subject. Two subjects joined by and take a plural verb in most cases.

How are tenses tested in the CSEET Business Communication paper?

Tenses and agreement appear in the English usage part of the written paper, usually as correction, fill-in or rewriting items. You must write the answers out, so accuracy in the full sentence matters. They also affect your marks in every writing task through the quality of your grammar.