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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which verb form correctly completes the sentence below?

"Everyone among the laboratory technicians _____ instructed to wear protective gear during the experiment."

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

Answer

was
The word 'Everyone' is a singular indefinite pronoun that requires a singular verb. The intervening prepositional phrase 'among the laboratory technicians' contains a plural noun, but it does not change the singular subject. Therefore, the singular past tense verb 'was' is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical subject of the sentence.
The subject is the indefinite pronoun 'Everyone'.
The phrase 'among the laboratory technicians' is a prepositional phrase modifying the subject, not the main subject itself.
2
Apply the concord rule for singular indefinite pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns like 'everyone', 'everybody', 'each', and 'someone' are grammatically singular and require singular verbs.
Intervening plural nouns within a prepositional phrase (such as 'technicians') do not alter the singular nature of the head subject.
3
Select the correct singular verb form among the given choices.
The singular verb 'was' correctly completes the sentence.
'was' is singular, whereas 'were', 'are', and 'have been' are plural forms.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Subject-Verb Agreement
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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