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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which option correctly completes the sentence below in accordance with the rules of subject-verb concord?

"A detailed summary of the financial audit, along with the receipts for all operational expenses, ______ submitted to the board yesterday."

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

Answer

The correct verb form is 'was'.
The head noun of the subject is the singular noun 'summary'. The phrase 'along with the receipts for all operational expenses' is a parenthetical prepositional modifier that does not pluralize the subject. Thus, the singular past-tense verb 'was' is required to maintain subject-verb agreement and match the past time adverbial 'yesterday'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true head noun of the subject clause.
The head noun is 'summary', which is singular.
Phrases introduced by quasi-conjunctions such as 'along with', 'together with', or 'as well as' are parenthetical modifiers and do not alter the singular nature of the subject.
2
Determine the required grammatical number and tense for the predicate verb.
The singular head noun requires a singular verb, and the time marker 'yesterday' indicates the simple past tense.
A singular subject must take a singular verb regardless of intervening plural nouns.
3
Select the option matching singular number and past tense.
'was' is the only option that satisfies both singular agreement and past tense.
'were', 'have been', and 'are' are all plural verb forms.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Concord with Intervening Parenthetical Expressions
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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