Attraction Errors (& with / as well as)

"The box of chocolates were empty." Say it out loud and it sounds almost right — which is exactly why this mistake is so common and so hard to catch. What's happened is that the verb has been "attracted" to the nearest noun, chocolates, instead of matching the real subject, box. There's a plural word sitting right next to the verb, so the verb reaches for it — but box is what the sentence is actually about, and box is singular. This is called an attraction error (sometimes "proximity error"), and it trips up careful writers and casual ones alike, because your ear is fooled by whichever noun it heard last. The fix is a single habit: find the true subject first, then match the verb to that and nothing else.

The rule: match the REAL subject

Every sentence is really about one main thing — that's the subject. Extra nouns often pile up between the subject and its verb, but only the subject counts. Ignore the rest:

✗ The box of chocolates were empty. ✓ The box of chocolates was empty. (the subject is "the box" — singular)

So before you choose a verb, ask the one question that solves nearly every case: who or what is this sentence really about? It's about the box, not the chocolates. Match the verb to the box. The chocolates are just passengers.

Spot the sneaky in-between words

The trap almost always hides inside a phrase that starts with of, in, with, on, from or between. These phrases describe the subject but never change it:

The list of names was long. (list, not names) The sound of the waves is calming. (sound, not waves) One of my friends is here. (one, not friends) A packet of crisps was on the table. (packet, not crisps)

Here's the reliable move: cross the of… phrase out in your head. The list of names was long. With the distraction gone, the true subject stands alone and the correct verb is obvious. Train your eye to bracket off those little phrases and the attraction simply can't get to you.

"As well as", "along with" too

The same thing happens with joining-style phrases that aren't really and: as well as, along with, together with, including. They add a comment about the subject, but they don't make it plural:

✓ The teacher, as well as the pupils, was late. (subject is "the teacher") ✓ Our dog, along with the two cats, was fast asleep. (subject is "our dog")

The pair of commas is your clue. Whatever sits between those commas is a bolt-on you could lift out entirely, leaving The teacher was late — plainly singular. If the writer had truly meant more than one subject, they'd have used and, and then the verb would go plural: The teacher and the pupils were late.

A double trap: plural subject, singular distractor

Attraction works both ways, and this is the version people forget. Sometimes the subject is plural and the nearby noun is singular, so the verb gets dragged wrongly into the singular:

✗ The reasons for his decision was unclear. ✓ The reasons for his decision were unclear. (subject = "the reasons" → plural)

Here decision is singular and sits right by the verb, tempting you toward was — but the sentence is about the reasons, so it's were. This is why "just match the nearest noun" is such bad advice: sometimes the nearest noun is precisely the one to ignore. Always go back to the true subject, whichever direction the pull is coming from.

Watch out — find the subject first

Notice that every fix in this article comes from the same first step: identify the subject before you even glance at the verb. So make it a rule for yourself — read the whole subject, mentally delete any of… or as well as… phrase, decide whether what's left is singular or plural, and only then pick the verb. If you choose the verb too early, while the plural distractor is still ringing in your ears, that's exactly when the error slips in.

A quick test you can use anywhere

When you're not sure, shrink the subject down to a single pronoun and see which verb your ear demands. The box of chocolates is really just it — and you'd never say it were empty, so it's it was, and therefore the box of chocolates was. The reasons for his decision is really they — and they were unclear sounds right, so it's were. Swapping the whole subject for it or they is a fast, reliable check, because a single pronoun leaves no plural distractor for the verb to be attracted to. Your ear, which was fooled a moment ago, suddenly gives you the right answer, because you've removed the very word that was leading it astray.

Why it matters

Attraction errors are one of the most frequent grammar slips in the whole language, and they get more common, not less, as your writing improves — because longer, more sophisticated sentences naturally stack more nouns between the subject and its verb. A sentence like the impact of these changes on younger students was… has three tempting plural-ish words before the verb even arrives. Markers know this is where good writers stumble, so getting it right is a genuine signal of control. Better still, the cure is a single transferable habit that also cracks there is / there are sentences and quantity subjects: look past the noise and find the word the sentence is truly about. Learn it here and you've quietly solved several agreement puzzles at once.

Quick check

Choose the verb:

1. The bunch of bananas ___ (is/are) ripe.

2. One of the players ___ (was/were) injured.

3. The teacher, as well as her pupils, ___ (was/were) delighted.

4. The colours of that painting ___ (is/are) beautiful.

5. A crate of bottles ___ (was/were) delivered.

6. The results of the experiment ___ (was/were) surprising.

Where next

• Subject–Verb Agreement — the core rule.
• There Is or There Are? — another agreement trap.
• Compound Subjects — A and B verbs.