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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the present-tense form of the verb 'to be' that correctly satisfies the rules of grammatical concord.

Answer:One of the most effective strategies for reducing urban traffic congestion 【is】 the expansion of public rapid transit networks.

Answer

The correct verb to fill the blank is 'is'.
The singular indefinite construction headed by 'One' functions as the simple subject of the sentence. The intervening prepositional phrase 'of the most effective strategies...' contains the plural noun 'strategies', but object nouns inside modifier phrases do not determine verb number. Consequently, the singular verb 'is' is required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence.
The core subject of the clause is the singular pronoun 'One'. The phrase 'of the most effective strategies for reducing urban traffic congestion' is a prepositional modifier.
Nouns contained within intervening prepositional phrases do not change the number of the true subject.
2
Apply the rule of subject-verb concord in the present tense.
Because the head subject 'One' is singular, the verb must also be third-person singular present tense, which is 'is'.
Subject-verb agreement dictates that a singular subject requires a singular verb form regardless of plural nouns appearing in intervening modifying phrases.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Intervening Prepositional Phrases
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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