Grammar Rules _ Speak Good English Movement

However, there are exceptions to the rules
mentioned earlier.
If the two nouns are conjoined and represent a single idea,
then the verb is singular.
E.g.
• Bread and butter is available on request.
• Fish and chips is my favourite meal.
• Law and order is the new government’s priority.
Problems also arise when the speaker or writer is faced
with more than one noun or pronoun in the sentence.
E.g.
• The quality of our students’ essays has
fallen drastically.
In this case, the verb has fallen agrees with the
subject (first noun mentioned) or head noun of
the noun phrase, quality.
E.g.
• The spokes of that wheel are broken.
In this case, the subject of the sentence is spokes
(plural head noun), hence the plural verb are.
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