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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Neither of the proposals submitted by the urban planners _______ acceptable to the municipal council. Which verb form correctly completes the sentence?

  1. isAnswer
  2. B
    are
  3. C
    were
  4. D
    have been

Answer

The correct option is 'is' because the singular indefinite pronoun 'Neither' functions as the subject of the sentence and requires a singular verb.
The sentence requires a singular verb to agree with the head subject 'Neither'. The option 'is' is the only present-tense singular verb that maintains correct subject-verb concord.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence
The subject is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither', not the object of the preposition ('proposals') or the phrase ('urban planners').
Prepositional phrases following indefinite pronouns do not change the grammatical number of the head subject.
2
Determine the grammatical number required for the verb
Indefinite pronouns such as 'Neither', 'Either', 'Each', and 'Everyone' are grammatically singular.
Singular subjects require singular verbs to maintain concord.
3
Select the correct singular verb form
'is' is singular, whereas 'are', 'were', and 'have been' are plural forms.
Choosing 'is' ensures proper subject-verb agreement.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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