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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the correct form of the verb provided in parentheses.

Answer:Many a seasoned diplomat in the ministry 【has】 (have) expressed deep concern over the recent breakdown of bilateral negotiations.

Answer

has
In formal English concord rules, the idiomatic determiner expression 'many a' is followed by a singular countable noun and strictly demands a singular verb. Thus, 'has' is the grammatically correct form to complete the present perfect construction.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical subject structure of the sentence.
The subject phrase is 'Many a seasoned diplomat'.
The sentence begins with the expression 'many a' modifying the singular noun 'diplomat'.
2
Apply the rule of subject-verb agreement (concord) governing 'many a'.
The structure 'many a' + singular noun requires a singular verb.
Although 'many a' conveys a plural concept semantically, syntactically it mandates singular agreement.
3
Conjugate the auxiliary verb in parentheses '(have)' to agree with the singular subject in the present perfect tense.
The correct singular auxiliary verb form is 'has'.
'Has' agrees in number with the singular noun head 'diplomat'.

Key Concept

Concord with 'Many a' + Singular Noun
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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