three decades of rapid economic growth in China have been ac

[Rag]

three decades of rapid economic growth in China have been accompanied by severe environmental degradation.

Is "have been accompanied" the correct form ? Should it not be Singular?


source: article in : http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/09/greening-china.html

[Misha]

'three decades .... have' makes sense in the plural. I usually ignore the part where it starts '... of rapid economic growth in China'. Can't always do this, but try reading the sentence without these words and the sentence makes a lot more readable sense.

[JonathanSchneider]

Correct. The only time we need to consult the "of" phrase is when looking at the SANAM pronouns: some, any, none, all, more/most.