Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?

• A. The team of players is winning.
• B. The team of players are winning.
• C. Both are correct.
• D. Neither is correct.

Answer: (A)

Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns: a team is treated as a single unit, so the verb should be singular. In "The team of players is winning," the subject "The team" is singular, and "is winning" matches that singular subject. The phrase "of players" is just extra detail and doesn’t change the number. The other sentence uses "are," which would treat the team as multiple individuals, not the standard reading for a single unit. The options suggesting both are correct or neither are correct don’t fit the typical rule, since the sentence with the singular verb follows the agreement rule.

Subject-verb agreement with collective nouns: a team is treated as a single unit, so the verb should be singular. In "The team of players is winning," the subject "The team" is singular, and "is winning" matches that singular subject. The phrase "of players" is just extra detail and doesn’t change the number. The other sentence uses "are," which would treat the team as multiple individuals, not the standard reading for a single unit. The options suggesting both are correct or neither are correct don’t fit the typical rule, since the sentence with the singular verb follows the agreement rule.