subject(volatilidad) verb (llevaron) agreement

Question

Sin embargo, hace unas semanas varios medios adelantaron que la volatilidad en los mercados por la crisis de deuda de la zona euro, entre otras cuestiones, llevaron al banco a plantear recortes de plantilla, siguiendo los pasos de otras entidades.

In the sentence, why is it llevaron al banco and not llevó al blanco? Isn't the singular noun volatilidad the subject of the verb llevar? "...the volatility of the market led the bank to plan..." If not, what is the plural noun that is the subject?

Sorry, should be **llevó al banco** - cdunn3, Dec 9, 2011

Answer 1

Just a mind slip. The author was thinking of the issues that led the bank to.... [the volatility.... being just one of them]...so he made the verb plural. As you point out, however, that what was in his mind was not what was written.

Answer 2

Definitely should be llevó.

Answer 3

I agree with Jerimias. The subject is singular despite the intervening phrase. English speakers also have this problem. Basically it comes from attempting to form a complex ("fancy") sentence without a firm grasp of grammar.

If one is not a good swimmer, one should stick to the shallow end of the pool (or near the shore [for old-timers]) rather than jumping in to waters that are over ones head.

Answer 4

llevó al banco

seems correct to me. There are a number of other plural words nearby, sometimes this creates confusion. For instance, the 'otras cuestiones' just before the verb might be flavoring it incorrectly.

Thanks Jeremias. Sentence is from a Univision article. - cdunn3, Dec 9, 2011