Connect that lost verb to its true subject to ensure agreement

Q. The lead sentence in a newspaper story stated, “A string of recent announcements promising jobs and private investment have raised hope that Hartford will become a hub for innovation in financial technology.” Given that the subject, “string,” is singular, should the verb then be “has raised”? – Emily Holcomb, via email

A. Yup. When a plural noun or nouns intervene between a subject and the verb, it can be difficult to connect the verb with its true subject. Like a lost baby duck, the poor verb must paddle past a clutter of intervening decoys to find its true mother, the subject.

In the sentence you cite, the subject “string” is separated from the verb by a long prepositional phrase that describes “string.” Because that phrase includes several other nouns – “announcements,” “jobs” and “investment” – and because they’re closer to the verb than the subject is, it’s tempting to use a verb that agrees with them instead of the true subject.

But these nouns are imposters. The tiny duck must swim around them to find its true mother (“string”). Watch how the duckling navigates around the decoys to find the correct verb in this sentence: The HEALTH of the ducks and loons on lakes and ponds full of clear water and abundant food sources IS improving. Mamma!

The choice of a singular or plural verb can also be tricky when the subject is followed by phrases such as “along with,” “as well as” and “together with.” The nouns following these phrases do NOT change the singularity of the subject, e.g., “The duck, along with the geese and loons, is feeding.”

Trouble also quacks when two nouns joined by “and” express a single idea, e.g., “macaroni and cheese,” “spaghetti and meatballs.” When this happens, a singular verb should be used, e.g., Macaroni and cheese is my favorite dish.

But sometimes deciding whether to treat a subject as singular or plural is difficult. Consider this sentence: Preservation and conservation is the key to protecting our wildlife.

Hmmm. Preservation and conservation are very similar in meaning, but they’re still separate items, so “are” is the better verb choice.

And we sometimes paddle into trouble when we mistakenly choose a verb that agrees with the nouns following it instead of preceding it, e.g., “A major factor in our enjoyment of the lake are the loons who nest there.” “Factor,” not “loons,” is the subject, so the verb should be “is.” Treating “loons” instead of “factor” as the subject is, well, loony!