Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.
A bouquet of yellow roses lends color and fragrance to the room.
Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
do you know the answer yet?
Act III, scene ii. Brutus and Cassius enter the Forum with a crowd of plebeians. Brutus explains to the crowd that Antony had no part in the conspiracy but that he will now be part of the new commonwealth. The plebeians cheer Brutus's apparent kindness, declaring that Brutus should be Caesar.
