**Ha! example!!! Universities here complain that a too large part of newly entering students is no longer able to write correct Dutch.= correct
Universities here complain that a too large part of newly entering students are no longer able to write correct Dutch. = incorrect
If the first sentence is correct, then why does the second sentence sound better to me?
I think the answer is because the English I speak differs from Standard English in this respect. In Standard English, the verb agrees with the subject. In my English, if there is a lot of material between the subject and the verb, the verb sometimes agrees with the closest noun. This is called the principle of proximity.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage says
Proximity agreement may pass in speech and other forms of unplanned discourse; in print it will be considered an error.
But this does not mean that I don't know the grammar of my native language. It means that I have to learn the grammar of another language, the grammar of Standard English. The same thing goes for those Dutch children who have to learn Standard Dutch.
