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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb that satisfies the rules of grammatical concord.

Answer:The number of candidates applying for the national scholarship 【has】 increased remarkably this academic session.

Answer

has
The expression 'the number of' specifies a single numerical quantity and strictly requires a singular verb ('has'). The plural noun 'candidates' acts as an object of the preposition 'of' and does not govern the verb.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head word of the subject phrase.
The subject head is the noun phrase 'The number', which is singular.
Under English concord rules, the expression 'the number of' functions as a singular noun phrase requiring a singular verb.
2
Determine the required verb agreement form.
The singular auxiliary verb 'has' must be used with the past participle 'increased'.
The singular head 'number' takes precedence over the intervening plural noun 'candidates'.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Concord with 'The number of' versus 'A number of'
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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