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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement

The following passage is an excerpt from an essay on ancient Mesopotamian history.

Archaeologists study cuneiform to understand ancient administration. Every one of the clay tablets recovered from the ancient library of Ashurbanipal, despite suffering extensive water damage over the millennia, provide invaluable insights into Mesopotamian trade agreements. Today, these texts help historians reconstruct early economic networks.

Which of the following choices is the best replacement for the underlined word?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. providesAnswer
  3. C
    are providing
  4. D
    provided

Answer

provides
The correct answer is the singular, present-tense verb 'provides' because it agrees with the singular subject 'Every one'. The intervening prepositional phrases containing plural nouns do not change the subject, and the present tense maintains consistency with the surrounding text.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical subject of the clause containing the underlined verb.
The subject is the indefinite pronoun 'Every one', which is singular.
Determining whether the subject is singular or plural is essential to establish correct subject-verb agreement.
2
Examine the intervening phrases between the subject and the verb.
The phrase 'of the clay tablets recovered from the ancient library of Ashurbanipal, despite suffering extensive water damage over the millennia' contains plural nouns ('tablets', 'millennia') but does not change the singular nature of the subject 'Every one'.
Intervening prepositional phrases and modifiers do not alter the number of the subject.
3
Select the verb form that agrees in number and maintains tense consistency.
The singular, present-tense verb 'provides' matches 'Every one' and aligns with the present tense established in the surrounding sentences ('study', 'help').
This resolves the grammatical error without introducing tense inconsistency.

Key Concept

Subject-verb agreement with intervening prepositional phrases and indefinite pronouns.
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement

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