Same Subject

Whenever you see a verb in the underlined portion of the sentence, get into the habit of identifying the subject and then determining whether the subject and verb agree. The easiest way to test subject/verb agreement is to remove the words that separate the subject and verb and then see how they sound together. Let's look at an example:

The chairman of the board, after deliberating for hours about the proper course of action and pulling dozens of advisors into the meeting to assist him with his decision, nevertheless decide not to build the new shopping mall.

Begin by finding the main verb of the sentence. It's "decide." Who or what is making this decision? The chairman of the board. Getting rid of the words that separate them leaves us with "The chairman decide not to build…" Does that sound right? No, the chairman decides not to build the mall.