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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which verb form correctly maintains subject-verb agreement in the sentence below?

"Neither of the proposed solutions _____ satisfactory to the committee."

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

Answer

is
The subject of the sentence is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither', which is singular and requires a singular verb. The intervening plural noun 'solutions' inside the prepositional phrase 'of the proposed solutions' does not change the subject's singular status. Therefore, the singular verb 'is' correctly completes the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence.
The head subject is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither'.
The noun phrase 'of the proposed solutions' is a prepositional modifier and does not function as the grammatical subject.
2
Determine the grammatical number of the subject.
'Neither' is a singular indefinite pronoun.
Standard English concord rules specify that 'neither' takes a singular verb when referring to two items.
3
Select the matching singular verb form.
'is' is the appropriate singular present-tense verb.
The singular subject 'Neither' requires the singular verb 'is'.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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