High levels of sugar _______ some people headaches.

Question

A) give

B) gives

C) have gave

Answer 1

A) GIVE Subject verb agreement question. Levels is your subject so the plural noun must have a singular verb. Sugar is part of the prepositional phrase, of sugar, so it is not the subject. The way to determine the correct s/v agreement is to find your subject and cross out all words in between the subject and the verb (make sure no prep phrase!). See what matches (plural subject needs a singular verb (no s) and singular subject (no s) needs a plural verb. From the example: Level (singular) gives (plural) levels (plural) give (singular).

Answer 2

Correct answer is A) give.

Sentences that are grammatically correct have subject verb agreement, and the subject or noun component of the sentence drives the verb that is used. The tricky part of this sentence is the prepositional phrase "of sugar" that is right before the verb. Some will identify sugar as the noun and then go on to choose the incorrect verb based on this choice. Sugar is the object of the prepositional phrase however. The noun or subject of the sentence is LEVELS which is a plural. In the English language, plural subjects are paired with singular verbs almost always. Singular subjects are paired with plural verbs as well. But the key strategy here is to get the "extra" words out of the way and look only at what's necessary.

If you look at the sentence with just the subject and verb/predicate, the answer is obvious. Look at the following:

High levels of sugar gives some people a headache. Easy to tell this is not correct just by reading it.

High levels of sugar give some people a headache. Easy to tell this IS correct as the subject and predicate match.