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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Read the sentence below and choose the word that correctly completes it in accordance with the rules of subject-verb concord.

'The sudden outbreak of waterborne diseases in the surrounding rural communities _______ traced to contaminated underground water sources.'

Which of the following options correctly completes the sentence?

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

Answer

The singular auxiliary verb 'was' correctly completes the sentence.
The head noun of the subject noun phrase is the singular noun 'outbreak'. The intervening prepositional phrases ('of waterborne diseases' and 'in the surrounding rural communities') contain plural nouns, but these do not change the number of the head subject. Therefore, the singular verb 'was' is required to satisfy subject-verb agreement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true subject of the clause
The main subject noun phrase is 'The sudden outbreak of waterborne diseases in the surrounding rural communities', where the head noun is the singular noun 'outbreak'.
Prepositional phrases such as 'of waterborne diseases' and 'in the surrounding rural communities' modify the head noun but do not alter its grammatical number.
2
Determine the required verb number
Since the head noun 'outbreak' is singular, it requires a singular past-tense verb.
Basic subject-verb concord dictates that a singular subject must take a singular verb.
3
Select the correct option
The singular verb form 'was' provides proper grammatical agreement.
The forms 'were', 'have been', and 'are being' are plural verb structures resulting from the error of proximity.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Concord and the Error of Proximity
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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