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Subject/Verb Agreement Problem. Finding the Subject

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Subject/Verb Agreement Problem. Finding the Subject

by steven7dong » Sun Sep 08, 2013 5:55 pm
Hello, I was doing my GMAT practice test and I got these questions wrong because the test point is subject/verb agreement and I picked the wrong subject. Three questions:

1.
Playwright Samuel Becket, whose well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques, were given recognition by critics, and also served to influence many writers, that included Edward Albee and Paul Vogel whose writing styles differed from his own.

What's subject in this sentence? I think the subject is Playwright Samuel Becket, which is singular but the correct answers says the subject is "well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques", which is plural. Why? Please help!
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by vinay1983 » Sun Sep 08, 2013 6:10 pm
steven7dong wrote:Hello, I was doing my GMAT practice test and I got these questions wrong because the test point is subject/verb agreement and I picked the wrong subject. Three questions:

1.
Playwright Samuel Becket, whose well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques, were given recognition by critics, and also served to influence many writers, that included Edward Albee and Paul Vogel whose writing styles differed from his own.

What's subject in this sentence? I think the subject is Playwright Samuel Becket, which is singular but the correct answers says the subject is "well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques", which is plural. Why? Please help!

Hi,

As you can see "Playwright Samuel Becket is used as a reference for "whose work" and not subject per se.Look at the latter part of the sentence and try to get the meaning of it.

Suppose if I say " His well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques were given recognition and served as an influence for other writers..bla blah blah."

Now what served as inspiration "Samuel" or his "works"
It has to be his works, which is plural, hence that portion in the original sentence as mentioned by you is correctly described as the subject.

Hope it helps!
You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!
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by steven7dong » Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:22 am
Hey Thanks for your prompt answer. My problem is that I thought "whose well crafted works, unsympathetic examination of the human condition, and theatrical techniques" is a modifying phrase that is used to modify "Playwright Samuel Becket". So in this sentence, Playwright Samuel Becket is just a reference? Is that what you mean in your reply previously?
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