When the subject comes after the verb: SAT inverted sentences
"There ___ several reasons for the delay." Nothing before the verb is the subject — "there" is a placeholder, not a noun.
Why it happens
Every rule you learned assumes subject-then-verb order. Inverted sentences break that, so the habit of "look left for the subject" quietly returns the wrong word — or no word at all.
See the trap
"There ___ several reasons for the delay, and among them ___ a supply shortage."
"There is several reasons" — matching the verb to "there".
"There are several reasons ... among them was a supply shortage." The subjects are "reasons" and "shortage".
How to actually fix it
- 1Flip the sentence back to normal order: "Several reasons are there."
- 2The noun that survives the flip is your subject.
- 3Watch for sentences opening with a location or a prepositional phrase — they invert the same way.
FAQ
Can 'there' ever be the subject?
No — in these sentences it is an expletive placeholder with no meaning of its own. The verb must agree with the real noun that follows it.
How do I stop repeating this mistake?
Reading the explanation isn't enough — your brain needs to beat the trap on a fresh question. Practice the skill in the kaoshen.co question bank: miss one and it is logged with the exact error, then brought back to you three days later and again after fourteen.
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