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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which option correctly completes the sentence below?

Dominating the northern ridge of the highlands _____ a cluster of ancient watchtowers that _____ survived centuries of harsh weather.

  1. stands / haveAnswer
  2. B
    stand / have
  3. C
    stands / has
  4. D
    stand / has

Answer

stands / have
The sentence features an inverted structure where the true grammatical subject 'a cluster' comes after the verb. Because 'cluster' is singular, the main clause verb must be singular ('stands'). In the subsequent relative clause, the relative pronoun 'that' refers to the plural antecedent 'ancient watchtowers', requiring the plural auxiliary verb 'have'. Thus, 'stands / have' is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the main clause subject in the inverted sentence structure
The sentence uses inverted order where the predicate phrase 'Dominating the northern ridge of the highlands' precedes the main subject 'a cluster of ancient watchtowers'. The head noun of this subject is 'cluster', which is singular.
Inverted sentences place the subject after the verb, but agreement must still be with the true head noun, ignoring intervening prepositional modifiers like 'of the highlands'.
2
Select the correct verb form for the first blank
Since 'cluster' is a singular noun, the first blank requires the third-person singular verb 'stands'.
Grammatical concord dictates that singular subjects take singular verbs.
3
Identify the antecedent of the relative pronoun in the dependent clause
The relative pronoun 'that' directly modifies the plural noun phrase 'ancient watchtowers', which is the immediate noun preceding the relative clause.
A relative pronoun agrees in number with its antecedent noun.
4
Select the correct verb form for the second blank
Because 'watchtowers' is plural, the relative clause requires the plural auxiliary verb 'have'.
Plural antecedents require plural verbs in relative clauses.

Key Concept

Inverted Sentence Concord and Relative Clause Antecedent Agreement
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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