Number agreement

(1)

Surprisingly and disappointingly often, I find students failing to make their verb agree with the subject.

Now, I don't see too many mistakes like,  I goes to the park every morning, or He like chocolate  ice-cream but when the subject is longer, or is interrupted by other phrases, errors can creep in.

Malcolm and Anna, who is the most intelligent, sweet-natured girl with the the loveliest smile I have ever seen, is coming round for dinner this evening. (Read: are coming)

The writer's obvious enthusiasm for Anna and her qualities has made him quite forget that Malcolm is also coming to dinner, where he will no doubt be in the way.

Here is a more difficult one: The unparalleled  beauty of Anna - her auburn hair, her smile, her funny ways and little quirks, her tiny little feet and  big brown eyes - make my heart quake.

So here we go with Anna again.  But, grammatically speaking, what is it that makes the author's heart quake? It is unparalleled beauty, which is a singular. So the sentence should read: The unparalleled  beauty of Anna - her auburn hair, her smile, her funny ways and little quirks, her tiny little feet and  big brown eyes - makes my heart quake.

If all that sounds a little off, it is because the sentence is not very good. The author shouldn't have stuffed it full of descriptions of plural things. Lust has made him blind to syntactical elegance. 

(2)

Do not forget that the words each, either, everyone, everybody, neither, nobody, no-one and someone all take the singular.

Everybody was kung-fu fighting.

I have invited just Anna this evening, so neither Malcolm nor you is welcome.

(3)

Be careful with the pronoun one. 

One of you is lying

One of us is trying to get off with Anna. 

One of those suspicious-looking men was hanging around outside your house last night.  

Fine and dandy, because what could be more singular than the word "one"? 

But which of the following is correct? 

She is one of those people who is never ready on time.

OR

She is one of those people who are never ready on time.

The second one is correct. 

But did I  not just remind you that "one" is singular? 

I did, but the one cedes its place to a relative pronoun, who. The antecedent to this who is the noun people, which is plural. Therefore, the who is plural, and so is the verb it governs. 

If this last example confused you, focus on what went before, which is more important.