Question

Which sentence has the correct subject-verb agreement?

Heavy rains or fast-melting snow causes floods in many parts of the world.
Heavy rains or fast-melting snow cause floods in many parts of the world.

Answer 1

A). Heavy rains or fast-melting snow causes floods in many parts of the world.

Step-by-step explanation:

Subject-verb agreement is demonstrated as the grammatical rule which implies the agreement of subject and verb in terms of number. It implies that a singular noun must correspond to a singular verb while a plural must correspond to a plural verb.

As per the question, option A implies a correct subject-verb agreement as it includes the subjects 'Heavy rains' and 'fast-melting snow' are linked by coordinating conjunction 'or' that turns it singular and therefore, the verb must also be 'singular'(causes). Thus, option A is the correct answer as in option B the subject and verb do not agree in number.

Answer 2

The correct answer is the first option.

The sentence that presents the correct subject-verb agreement is the first one since in it we are talking about "heavy rains" OR "fast-melting snow". In other words, the subject is coordinated by the conjunction "OR" which makes the subject singular. The verb "causes" is conjugated in the third person singular.