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Rule: Noun phrases functioning as the subject in a sentence must agree with the verb.
So only two of these are correct.
This is, but these are
Problems:
Making subject and verb agree when words come between them;
reaching agreement when the subject is an indefinite pronoun; and
making the verbs have, do, and be agree with their subjects.
Extra words hiding the object
Be careful when extra words come between the subject and the verb.
Let's compare these two sentences:
This box belongs in the attic.
This box of ornaments belongs in the attic.
In both sentences, the verb belongs agrees with its subject, box.
In the second sentence of ornaments is NOTthe subject.
It is simply the object of the preposition of.
Extra words of all kinds often come between a subject and a verb.
So make sure that a verb agrees with its subject
and not with a word in an extra phrase or clause.
If you can remove the extra words and still keep the meaning, then the words are not the object.
One (of my sister's friends) is a pilot.
The people (who survived the explosion) are in a shelter.
A man (chasing unicorns) is on the terrace.
The subject is not always the noun closest to the verb.
It is the noun (or pronoun) that names what the sentence is about, and it may be separated by several words from the verb.
Some verbs have plural and singular forms.
These must agree or concure with
the object noun.
concord
when the words in a sentence match each other according to the rules of grammar,
for example when the verb is plural because the subject of the sentence is plural.
- The boy are in the classroom.
- The boy is in the classroom.
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The boys are in the classroom.
- The boys is in the classroom.
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This is called agreement or concord in the grammar books
More examples
- There were some cows in the field.
- Lots of people were walking in the woods.
- I saw a pack of dogs chasing some foxes
- A three door car. (three door is an adjective, there is only one car)
- A ten ton lorry. (ten ton is an adjective, there is only one lorry)
- There are many other people. There are many others.
- My scissors are blunt.
- My trousers are dirty. (In English trousers, pants and sunglasses are plural)
- Fishing by the river: "how many fish did you see?"
"Oh, I saw a lot of fish in the river."
- In a restaurant: "How much fish would you like?"
"Oh just a little please."
- Resolution for most of them is 720x 480 (Not are because resolution is)
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