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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement

The following passage describes a challenge in modern astronomy. What is the correct present-tense form of the verb 'to explain' that completes the passage to maintain proper subject-verb agreement?

Answer:In the field of astronomy, researchers constantly analyze anomalies in the night sky. Neither of the proposed mathematical models 【explains】 the strange orbital decay observed in the outer rings of Saturn. Consequently, astrophysicists must continue to refine their hypotheses to account for this data.

Answer

The correct answer is 'explains'.
The verb must agree in number with its subject, which is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Neither'. The correct present-tense form for a singular subject is 'explains'. The intervening prepositional phrase 'of the proposed mathematical models' contains the plural noun 'models', but nouns within modifying prepositional phrases do not affect subject-verb agreement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject of the verb in the sentence containing the blank.
The subject is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither'.
The prepositional phrase 'of the proposed mathematical models' modifies the subject but does not change it; the head of the subject phrase is the pronoun 'Neither'.
2
Determine the number of the subject to establish agreement.
The subject 'Neither' is singular.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'each', 'either', and 'neither' are singular and require singular verbs.
3
Form the correct present-tense verb that agrees with the singular subject.
The correct present-tense form is 'explains'.
For a singular subject in the third person, the verb must end in '-s' (explains) to agree with the subject 'Neither'.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement

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