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Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

In the sentence below, which verb appropriately fills the gap according to standard rules of agreement?

'Dr. Okon is the only one of the senior researchers who ______ managed to secure international funding for the project.'

  1. A
    have
  2. hasAnswer
  3. C
    were
  4. D
    are

Answer

The correct option is 'has'.
In English concord rules, when a relative clause follows the structure 'the only one of + plural noun', the relative pronoun refers back to 'the only one' (singular), not the plural noun. Therefore, the singular auxiliary verb 'has' is required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject and structure of the relative clause.
The sentence contains a relative clause introduced by 'who', which modifies the noun phrase preceding it.
Determining the true antecedent of a relative pronoun is necessary to establish subject-verb concord.
2
Distinguish between 'one of those who' and 'the only one of those who'.
While 'one of the researchers who...' takes a plural verb, the construction 'the only one of the researchers who...' restricts the subject to a single individual ('the only one').
The word 'only' shifts the emphasis to the singular head noun 'one', making 'who' refer to a singular entity.
3
Select the verb form that agrees in number and tense with the singular antecedent.
The singular present-perfect auxiliary verb 'has' correctly satisfies subject-verb concord.
A singular antecedent requires a singular verb.

Key Concept

Subject-relative clause agreement with 'the only one of...'
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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