The sentence below has a blank where a verb is missing. Read the sentence carefully and determine the correct verb form. What is the correct present-tense form of the verb 'to be' that completes the sentence to maintain proper subject-verb agreement?
Answer:Neither of the research proposals submitted by the physics department, despite containing groundbreaking theories on quantum entanglement, 【is】 considered viable by the review board.
Answer
The correct present-tense verb to fill the blank is 'is'.
The correct present-tense verb form is 'is' because the subject is 'neither,' which is a singular indefinite pronoun. Singular subjects require singular verbs, regardless of any intervening prepositional phrases ('of the research proposals...') or parenthetical modifiers ('despite containing groundbreaking theories...').
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Subject-Verb Agreement with Singular Indefinite Pronouns and Intervening Plural Modifiers