Along the side of the winding country road stretch a long line of pine trees and a low, crumbling stone wall covered with both moss and snow.

Grammar Q.

“Along the side of the winding country road stretch a long line of pine trees and a low, crumbling stone wall covered with both moss and snow”

The answer seems to come intuitively to a good student. But I just want to make sure know what is being tested here (ie, why this version is incorrect).

Does, “a long line of pine trees and low, crumbling…….”, constitute a compound noun and therefore requires the plural “stretch”?

As always, your diligence is appreciated man.

What distinguishes the painting of this artist from HER CONTEMPORARIES ARE the combination of vibrant colors with striking patterns.

What distinguishes the painting of this artist from HER CONTEMPORARIES ARE the combination of vibrant colors with striking patterns.

a) her contemporaries are

b) her contemporaries is

c) those of her contemporaries are

d) those of her contemporaries is

e) that of her contemporaries are

I chose choice c but the actual answer is choice d. I’m not sure why that I am incorrect.

I’m confused on whether verb agreement for “none” should be singular or plural.

I’m confused on whether verb agreement for “none” should be singular or plural. I know in your post [http://qa.pwnthesat.com/post/28309593095/hi-i-was-wondering-how-do-you-identify-whether-a] you said that it depends. Some of the sources I’ve come across [http://data.grammarbook.com/blog/singular-vs-plural/none-were-vs-none-was/] and [http://www.majortests.com/sat/explain.php?exp=49303036243134243636] insist that the verb should always be singular. Could you please clarify this?