Number

X In my favorite Armenian restaurant, the menu is fascinating and the entrees exquisite.
O ... and the entrees are exquisite.

O The bittersweet flavor of youth--its trials, its joys, its adventures, its challenges--is not soon forgot.

O One of the ablest MEN who HAVE attacked this problem.
O One of THOSE people who ARE never ready on time.

O Everybody thinks he has a sense of humor.
O Although both clocks strike cheerfully, neither KEEPS good time.

* Use singular verb form when "none" means "no one" or "not one".
* Use plural, when "none" suggests more than one thing or person.
O None of us is perfect.
O None are so fallible as those who are sure they're right.

* Certain compounds are so inseparable they are considered as a unit.
O The long and the sour of it IS ...
O Bread and butter WAS all she saved.
O Give and take IS essential to a happy household.
O Every window, picture, and mirror WAS smashed.

* A singular subject remains singular even if other nouns are connected to it by with, as well as, in addition to, except, together with, no less than.
O His speech as well as his manner IS objectionable.

* A linking verb agrees with the number of its subject.
O What IS wanted IS a few more Paris of hands.
O The trouble with truth IS its many varieties.

*Idiomatic Usage:
* Contents of a book is singular.
* Contents of a jar is plural or singular, depending on what's in the jar--marbles or jam.