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Subject Verb agreement - Phrase as a subject

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Subject Verb agreement - Phrase as a subject

by GMATMadeEasy » Fri Nov 19, 2010 3:41 am
Included in the exhibition are books made from 1994 to the present.

Included in the exhibition is books made from 1994 to the present.

Which one is correct and why please ?

Logic 1: "Included in the exhibition" is a participle phrase so it can be the subject of the sentence . hence, first is correct.

Logic 2: Books should be the subject of the sentence, so second is correct.

I am confused.
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by uwhusky » Fri Nov 19, 2010 7:21 am
Page 42 in the MGMAT SC guide:

"In most English sentences the subject precedes the verb. However, the GMAT occasionally attempts to confuse you by inverting this order and placing the subject after the verb."

I believe your example is such case. If you invert the subject, it actually makes more sense:

"Books made from 1994 to the present are included in the exhibition."

"Included in the exhibition," I believe is a modifier rather than the subject.
Yep.
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by Isaac@EconomistGMAT » Fri Nov 19, 2010 2:19 pm
Uhuskey is correct here. Included in the exhibition is a modifier (past participle/non conjugated verb is how you can tell this type of modifier), and the subject is 'books'. It

Also, logically, 'included' cannot 'be' a book, but a book can be included.

Always ask yourself: What is the action; and then ask yourself: Who or what does this action? The answer to the second question ALWAYS gives you the subject, whether it is a single subject noun or a whole phrase.
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