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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the correct present tense form of the verb 'be' that satisfies the rules of subject-verb concord.

Answer:According to the panel's findings, it is not the managing director but his chief administrative officers who 【are】 accountable for the financial discrepancies.

Answer

The correct verb to complete the blank is 'are'.
In English grammar, when a relative clause follows a contrastive focus structure ('not A but B'), the relative pronoun 'who' refers to the affirmative element B ('his chief administrative officers'). Because 'officers' is a plural noun phrase, the relative pronoun takes plural agreement, requiring the plural verb 'are'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the relative clause and its subject relative pronoun in the sentence structure.
The relative clause is 'who [blank] accountable...', where 'who' functions as the subject.
Relative pronouns take their grammatical person and number from their antecedent.
2
Determine the true antecedent of the relative pronoun 'who' in the contrastive construction 'not A but B'.
In the contrastive structure 'not the managing director but his chief administrative officers', the emphasis and agreement fall on the affirmative plural noun phrase 'his chief administrative officers'.
When a relative clause follows a 'not A but B' structure, the relative pronoun agrees with B (the affirmative noun phrase that heads the predicate emphasis).
3
Select the present tense form of the verb 'be' that matches the plural antecedent.
The plural antecedent 'chief administrative officers' requires the plural present tense verb 'are'.
Subject-verb concord dictates that a plural subject/antecedent must take a plural verb form.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Relative Pronouns and Contrastive Antecedents
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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