In more complicated sentences, such as those including lists, plural nouns that are grouped together or plural subjects that are followed by a singular noun, you should be especially careful that the noun agrees with the subject, and not just the nearest noun. For example, read the following two sentences:

The flock of geese was flying home.
The waves in the sea were very high.

In both these cases, the noun directly in front of the verb does not agree with it (geese/was and sea/were) – but they are not the subject. Be careful not to make the mistake of simply forming the verb to agree with the nearest noun.

How do you know when the noun before the verb is not the subject

First, watch out for subjects that are followed by additional information in the form of a prepositional phrase. With prepositional phrases, your subject can be followed by additional nouns that may be either singular or plural. This happens when we demonstrate locations and times, to show that the subject is part of something else, (of) or to show origins (from).

The books on the table
The first weeks of the year
The girl from the mountains

Always be aware of nouns that follow prepositions, as these are not the subject.

Another problem is when you have a group of singular nouns which should actually be plural, which can be confusing because they are part of a list. This means the final noun, before the verb, may be singular, but the verb should be treated as a plural. Watch out for lists, particularly shown by the word and.

Jim and his dog were in the park.
The pen, the paper, the book and the lamp were all on the table.

Additional information that can confuse how you form the noun may also be found using descriptive words which follow the subject, which may be done as a matter of style (for emphasis) or to show additional information caused by an action or state instead of a preposition (the book given to her, the girl he loved). This information may be made clear by commas, or other punctuation that shows it is separate to the core of the sentence. To really understand the relationship here, however, you should explore the uses of relative clauses.

The baby, newly born, was crying.
The van filled with bottles was parked by the shop.
The man who had eaten the loaves was arrested.

Complex nouns and plurals – verb agreement exercise

For now, practice simply identifying what the real subject of the sentence is and try to make the verb agree with it. The following exercise will test this. Read the sentence, consider which noun is the subject and form the missing verb.

The troop of soldiers _____ marching home. (to be)
Balconies facing the sea _____ very expensive. (to be)
The children from the hospital _____ here to play. (to be)
The paintings, and the gallery, _____ damaged by the rain. (to be)
The roots of her family _____ go back many years. (to go)
The details of the crime _____ hard to piece together. (to be)
His hair, though singed, _____ still there. (to be)
The dogs, the cats and their owner _____ walking in the park. (to be)
The man representing the criminals _____ speaking now. (to be)
My schedule for the next few weeks _____ incredibly busy. (to be)
The pets in the store _____ all rather cute. (to be)
The fake gold on his cheap watches _____ starting to wash off. (to be)
Our computer speakers with their expensive design _____ very loud. (to be)
The trees in the nearby forest _____ beautiful in Spring. (to look)
Do you like it when the wind in the mountains _____ between the rocks? (to whistle)

Answers

The following answers are the most accurate. In some cases, you could choose between different tenses; as long as your singular/plural correctly agrees with the noun.