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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement

The sentence below contains a blank. Which form of the verb 'to reveal' correctly completes the sentence while maintaining proper subject-verb agreement in the present tense? Write the correct verb form in the blank.

Answer:A detailed analysis of the geological core samples, including layers of volcanic ash and ancient sediment, 【reveals】 a history of seismic activity in the region.

Answer

reveals
The correct verb form is 'reveals' because the subject of the sentence is the singular noun 'analysis'. The long phrase separating the subject from the verb contains plural nouns like 'samples' and 'layers', but these do not affect the grammatical number of the subject. A singular subject requires a singular verb, which in the present tense ends in -s.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true grammatical subject of the sentence.
The subject is the singular noun 'analysis'.
The prepositional phrase 'of the geological core samples' and the participial phrase 'including layers of volcanic ash and ancient sediment' are intervening modifiers that describe the subject but do not change its singular number.
2
Determine the correct present-tense form of the verb 'to reveal' that agrees with a singular subject.
The correct form is 'reveals'.
A singular third-person subject ('analysis') requires the singular verb form ending in -s in the present tense.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Intervening Phrases
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement

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