Part of why subject/verb agreement errors are so numerous is because of the "special cases" that often arise in English, e.g., when words including "everyone," "some," and "none" are part of the subject. Use the principles that follow to guide you through these special cases.
Each of the student leaders agrees that . . .
Anyone associated with the DEP understands that . . .
Either the pebbles or the sand is . . . Either the sand or the pebbles are . . .
Some of the sample is contaminated. Some of the samples are refrigerated. All of the bone is intact. All of his bones are broken. None of the ground is disturbed. None of the grounds are mowed.
Further research and development on fuel cells is necessary for them to achieve their potential as energy storage devices. Supply and demand is used to determine the equilibrium values of price and quantity.
A number of people were affected by the tragedy.
The number of samples contaminated was two.
A series of western blots were performed to assay protein expression.
The series of western analyses was found to be inconclusive.
For each patient, 10 mL of whole blood was collected in a clot tube.
Once the data is collected, the results can be tabulated. When data for 2007 and 2008 were compared, the researchers found that violent crime in the city had dropped by 12 percent.