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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Read the sentence below carefully:

'Every one of the senior researchers who participated in the multi-center clinical trials _____ required to disclose any potential conflict of interest before the final report is published.'

Which option correctly completes the sentence to satisfy the rules of subject-verb agreement?

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

Answer

The correct verb form is 'is'.
The correct option is 'is' because the head of the subject phrase is the indefinite expression 'Every one', which is grammatically singular. The plural nouns 'researchers' and 'trials' appear within modifying structures (a prepositional phrase and a relative clause) and do not affect the singular concord required by the head noun.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main clause and locate the grammatical subject.
The main subject phrase is 'Every one of the senior researchers who participated in the multi-center clinical trials'.
Determining the full subject phrase is essential for establishing grammatical agreement.
2
Isolate the head noun/pronoun of the subject phrase from intervening modifiers.
The true head of the subject is 'Every one', which is a singular indefinite pronoun structure. The prepositional phrase 'of the senior researchers' and relative clause 'who participated in the multi-center clinical trials' are post-modifiers.
Intervening plural nouns inside prepositional phrases or relative clauses do not change the grammatical number of the subject head.
3
Apply the rule of subject-verb concord to select the matching verb form.
The singular subject head 'Every one' requires the singular third-person present tense verb 'is'.
Singular subjects mandate singular verbs regardless of nearby plural nouns.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Concord with Indefinite Pronouns and Intervening Modifiers
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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