Head of the NP in the subject has to agree with the finite verb in the predicator

Yikes, the title above is a real mouthful!
​And what the heck does it mean?

And yet ... you have probably heard this before multiple times during English lessons at school & perhaps even at university, usually as subject-verb agreement.  It is a term that is both misleading & massively over-simplified. Consider this sentence:  

The New York recording studio where Alicia Keys is finishing up her new album is calm and peaceful, with its incense-scented corridors and flickering candles.

Exactly which part of the subject should agree with the verb, and which verb should it agree with? To analyse this, you need to approach it in a certain manner. This is my method:

• Undress the sentence and say it as Tarzan would. What is the essential message? Think in terms of somebody/something do/does/is somebody something.
• Identify the predicator of the main/independent clause
• Identify the head of the something/somebodies

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After viewing the video lecture, check you understanding:
Exercises: ​Identifying the head of the NP & predicator

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