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Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Read the sentence below:

'Dr. Ezekwesili, alongside her lead researchers, ______ preparing to present the clinical trial results, although neither of the participating hospitals ______ yet verified the raw data.'

Which option correctly fills the gaps to satisfy the rules of grammatical concord?

  1. is / hasAnswer
  2. B
    are / have
  3. C
    is / have
  4. D
    are / has

Answer

The correct option is 'is / has'.
The choice featuring 'is / has' correctly identifies that parenthetical modifiers such as 'alongside...' do not pluralize the main subject ('Dr. Ezekwesili'), requiring the singular verb 'is'. Furthermore, it correctly enforces formal concord by assigning the singular verb 'has' to the singular indefinite pronoun 'neither'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the subject of the first clause and identify parenthetical expressions
The subject is 'Dr. Ezekwesili' (singular). The phrase 'alongside her lead researchers' is a parenthetical prepositional modifier, not a coordinating conjunction like 'and'.
Intervening phrases introduced by 'alongside', 'as well as', 'together with', or 'in addition to' do not alter the grammatical number of the subject head noun.
2
Determine the correct verb for the first gap
The singular subject 'Dr. Ezekwesili' requires the singular verb 'is'.
Subject-verb concord dictates agreement between the singular head noun and its verb, ignoring intervening plural nouns.
3
Analyze the subject of the subordinate clause and apply indefinite pronoun rules
The subject head of the second clause is 'neither', which is a singular indefinite pronoun.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'neither', 'either', 'each', and 'everyone' take singular verbs in formal examination grammar regardless of any following plural prepositional phrase ('of the participating hospitals').
4
Select the correct verb for the second gap
The singular subject 'neither' requires the singular auxiliary verb 'has'.
Matching the verb to 'hospitals' is an error of proximity.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord) with Parenthetical Phrases and Indefinite Pronouns
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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