Doubts with plural verbs

[silvia15]

Hi!
Several friends and I have a discussion about these sentences and we are not really sure about the right way to say it:

A wide variety of drinks is available at the bar
OR
A wide variety of drinks are available at the bar


A wide range of water sports is offered at the premises
OR
A wide range of water sports are offered at the premises.


Which one is right in these cases, IS or ARE?

Your answer will be very appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Silvia.

[mykwyner]

Sentence 1. The subject is variety and it requires the singular verb is.

Sentence 2. The subject is range and it also requires the singular verb is.

The English language allows for a large numbers of interrupters (prepositional phrases, relative clauses, appositives, etc.) to be placed between the simple subject and its verb, but they still have to agree in number and person. Try reducing the sentence to its basic meaning: variety is available and range is offered.

[silvia15]

Thank you very much for your fast answer
I will tell my friends.
Regards,

Silvia