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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the form of the verb that correctly satisfies the rules of grammatical concord. Which word correctly fills the blank?

Answer:A list of eligible candidates, alongside their qualifications and credentials, 【was】 submitted to the board yesterday.

Answer

The correct verb form to complete the sentence is 'was'.
The correct answer is 'was' because the true subject of the clause is the singular noun 'list'. Parenthetical expressions introduced by 'alongside' do not form a compound subject, so the verb remains singular. Additionally, the past time indicator 'yesterday' necessitates the past tense form 'was'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary grammatical subject of the sentence.
The main subject is the singular noun phrase 'A list'.
Phrases introduced by quasi-conjunctions or prepositions such as 'alongside', 'as well as', 'together with', or 'in addition to' are parenthetical modifiers and do not pluralize the head subject.
2
Determine the correct verb number and tense required by the sentence context.
The singular subject 'A list' requires a singular past-tense verb ('was') to agree with the temporal adverb 'yesterday'.
Singular subjects require singular verbs regardless of any intervening plural nouns, such as 'candidates' or 'credentials'.

Key Concept

Quasi-conjunction Concord (Parenthetical phrases introduced by 'alongside' do not alter subject number)
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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