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Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Read the sentence below and fill in the blank with the correct word:

Every one of the delegates, together with the foreign observers, _____ satisfied with the resolutions reached at the summit.

Which of the following options correctly completes the sentence?

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

Answer

was
The sentence requires the singular verb 'was' because the grammatical subject is the singular indefinite pronoun phrase 'Every one'. The clause 'together with the foreign observers' is a prepositional phrase that modifies the subject but does not change its singular number.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main head subject of the clause.
The head subject is 'Every one', which is a singular indefinite pronoun structure.
Expressions like 'together with', 'along with', and 'as well as' introduce prepositional modifiers that do not alter the number of the subject.
2
Apply the rule of subject-verb concord for singular head subjects with intervening plural nouns.
The verb must be singular to agree with 'Every one', disregarding the plural noun 'observers' inside the modifier.
Failing to ignore the intervening plural noun leads to the error of proximity.
3
Select the singular past-tense verb that completes the sentence grammatically.
The singular verb 'was' correctly completes the clause.
'Was' provides proper singular concord and agrees with the past tense context of the sentence.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Concord with Indefinite Pronouns and Intervening Phrases
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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