Tricky agreement
- Collective nouns (team, class) usually take a singular verb.
- 'Either... or' / 'neither... nor' — the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Quantifiers: 'a number of' takes plural; 'the number of' takes singular.
Key idea
In complex sentences, agreement depends on collective nouns, either/or structures and quantifiers.
Remember
With 'neither... nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject.