After "some", plural or singular verb?

Question

In these sentences:

"Some (composes/compose) delightful music"
"Some of them (write/writes) wonderful books"

Which form of the verb should I use?

Answer 1

The subject’s premodifier does not change the grammatical number of that subject for purposes of verb agreement.

Because poets is plural, all of these take a plural verb:

• Poets write sonnets.
• Some poets write sonnets.
• Some of the poets write sonnets.
• Most poets write sonnets.
• Most of the poets write sonnets.
• Many poets write sonnets.
• Many of the poets write sonnets.
• Lots of poets write sonnets.
• A lot of poets write sonnets.
• No poets write sonnets.
• None of the poets write sonnets.

But because rice is singular, all of these take a singular verb:

• Rice is good for you.
• Some rice is good for you.
• Some of the rice is good for you.
• Most rice is good for you.
• Most of the rice is good for you.
• Much rice is good for you.
• Much of the rice is good for you.
• Lots of rice is good for you.
• A lot of rice is good for you.
• No rice is good for you.
• None of the rice is good for you.

As you see, the premodifier does not affect subject–verb agreement.