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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

In the sentence below, which verb form maintains proper subject-verb concord?

"Every one of the newly appointed directors, despite the recent administrative reforms, ______ required to submit a comprehensive financial audit by Friday."

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

Answer

The correct verb form is 'is' because the grammatical subject 'Every one' is singular.
The head noun of the subject phrase is 'Every one', which is singular and requires a singular verb. The intervening plural nouns 'directors' and 'reforms' exist within prepositional and contrastive phrases and do not change the subject number. Therefore, the singular present verb 'is' correctly completes the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true head word of the subject clause.
The head phrase is 'Every one', an indefinite pronoun structure that takes a singular verb.
Prepositional and parenthetical modifiers such as 'of the newly appointed directors' and 'despite the recent administrative reforms' do not alter the singular nature of the head noun.
2
Determine the correct verb number required.
A singular present-tense verb is needed.
Grammatical concord rules mandate that singular subjects take singular verbs.
3
Select the option providing the correct singular verb.
'is' is the only singular present-tense verb among the options.
The alternate choices ('are', 'were', 'have been') are all plural verb forms.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord and Error of Proximity
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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