Subject-Verb agreement

To get into a good university in the United States, students must ace the SAT. As a tutor for the SAT in the Vancouver, BC, area, I've written this blog to provide tips to students. For individual tutoring, please contact me.
Of all the problems in the writing section of the SAT, students have the most trouble with subject-verb agreement.
Making sure the subject and verb agree sounds like a simple task. But the SAT manages to complicate the matter.
SAT questions put words in between the subject and verb. So sometimes it isn't easy for students to determine the subject and verb.
Students often don't realize that only the conjunction "and" can make the subject into a compound subject.
The word "with" as well as the word "including" does not make the subject a compound subject.
And the previous sentence should also give you another tip: The phrase "as well as" doesn't make the subject a compound subject. So the subject of that sentence is "the word," which is singular, as in:
The word "with" does not make...
"Or" also confuses students studying for the SAT. Use the subject closest to the verb.

Correct Sentences

The players or the captain isn't ready to start the game. (subject closest to verb is captain)
The captain or the players aren't ready to start the game. (subject closest to verb is players)
The players and the captain aren't ready to start the game. (compound subject - joined by "and")
The players as well as the captain aren't ready to start the game. (subject is players)
The captain as well as the players isn't t ready to start the game. (subject is captain)