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Difficulty: Very hardSubject-Verb Agreement

The construction of the cathedral’s vaulted ceiling represents a triumph of medieval engineering, yet the project was plagued by structural instability. Neither the lead architect who designed the complex geometry of the arches nor the supervisor of the apprentice stonemasons who executed the plan were aware of the fatal flaw in the foundation.

Which choice makes the underlined portion of the sentence grammatically correct?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. wasAnswer
  3. C
    is
  4. D
    are

Answer

The correct option is 'was' because the singular subject 'supervisor' requires a singular verb, and the past tense must be maintained to match the narrative context of the passage.
The correct answer is the past-tense, singular verb 'was' because the subject of the verb is the singular noun 'supervisor'. Under the rules of 'neither... nor' conjunctions, the verb must agree with the closer subject, which is 'supervisor'. The intervening prepositional phrase 'of the apprentice stonemasons' and relative clause 'who executed the plan' do not affect the subject's number. Additionally, the past tense 'was' is required to maintain consistency with the past-tense verbs used elsewhere in the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject of the clause containing the underlined verb.
The sentence uses the correlative conjunction 'neither... nor' to connect two subjects: 'architect' (singular) and 'supervisor' (singular).
When subjects are joined by 'neither... nor', the verb must agree in number with the subject closer to it.
2
Analyze the modifiers between the subject and the verb.
The phrase 'of the apprentice stonemasons' and the relative clause 'who executed the plan' are intervening modifiers that do not affect the grammatical number of the subject 'supervisor'.
The head noun of the second subject is the singular noun 'supervisor', not the plural 'stonemasons'.
3
Determine the correct tense for the verb.
The passage establishes a past-tense narrative ('was plagued', 'designed', 'executed').
Verb tenses must remain consistent throughout the passage unless there is a logical reason to shift time frames.
4
Select the option that is singular and in the past tense.
The singular past-tense verb is 'was'.
This choice correctly resolves both the subject-verb agreement and tense consistency requirements.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Correlative Conjunctions and Intervening Phrases
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement

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