Subject verb agreement

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Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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Subject verb agreement

by garson0in » Mon Aug 06, 2007 10:33 am
Statement
A recent study shows that true capitalism obtains only when the ownership of property and the means of production is regarded as an individual’s inalienable right, not as a temporary license granted by the State.


Is the underlined verb “IS” in the above sentence correct ? I believe it should be “are” since the subject for this verb i.e. “ownership of property and the means of production” is plural.

Please advise.

P.S. – This question might sound silly but the sentence appears in MILCET Sentence Correction notes and therefore would like to confirm.

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
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by garson0in » Sun Aug 12, 2007 10:16 am
Please advise.

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by devesh » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:35 am
A recent study shows that true capitalism obtains only when the ownership of property and the means of production is regarded as an individual’s inalienable right, not as a temporary license granted by the State.

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by hopefully » Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:24 am
A recent study shows that true capitalism obtains only when the ownership of (property and the means of production) is regarded as an individual’s inalienable right, not as a temporary license granted by the State.


means of production cannot be the right... the right referes to ownership....

also it is right ( singular ) ... ( corectly pointed out by devesh)..

the meaning of whole sentence is crucial in some cases...
though i also struggle in this area ......

hope that helps...-