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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Fill in the blank with the appropriate verb form that maintains correct grammatical concord.

Answer:Five million naira 【was】 requested by the committee to construct the new community health clinic.

Answer

The correct verb to fill the blank is 'was' (or 'is'), because expressions denoting a specific total sum of money function as a single unit and take a singular verb.
In English grammar, phrases indicating a specific sum of money (such as 'Five million naira') represent a single aggregate quantity and therefore require a singular verb like 'was' or 'is'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject of the sentence and determine its grammatical nature.
The subject is 'Five million naira', which expresses a single total sum of money.
Nouns or phrases representing specific amounts of money, periods of time, or distances are treated as single collective entities.
2
Apply the rule of concord for expressions of money, time, and distance.
A singular verb form ('was' or 'is') must be paired with the singular sum of money.
Even though 'naira' or the number 'five million' might appear plural, the entire phrase represents a single aggregate quantity.

Key Concept

Concord of Amounts and Quantities
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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