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Difficulty: Very hardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the grammatically correct verb forms in the blanks to maintain proper subject-verb agreement.

Answer:The patron and co-founder of the research institute, together with his senior fellows, 【is】 scheduled to address the press today, as a number of critical findings 【have】 recently been published.

Answer

The first blank requires 'is' and the second blank requires 'have'.
The correct response uses 'is' for the first blank and 'have' for the second blank. In the first clause, 'The patron and co-founder' refers to a single individual, as indicated by the single definite article 'The'. The intervening phrase 'together with his senior fellows' is parenthetical and does not alter the singular nature of the subject. In the second clause, the structure 'a number of critical findings' requires the plural auxiliary verb 'have' because 'a number of' is an indefinite plural quantifier.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the subject structure for the first blank.
The subject phrase 'The patron and co-founder' refers to one person holding both titles because a single article ('The') introduces the compound noun phrase. Additionally, the parenthetical phrase 'together with his senior fellows' introduced by a quasi-conjunction does not pluralize the main subject.
When two titles joined by 'and' share a single determiner, they denote a single entity requiring a singular verb. Prepositional parenthetical phrases introduced by 'together with' do not affect subject-verb agreement.
2
Determine the correct verb form for the first blank.
'is' is the required singular verb form.
A singular subject requires a singular present tense verb ('is') to achieve grammatical concord.
3
Analyze the subject noun phrase for the second blank.
The phrase 'a number of critical findings' features the indefinite expression 'a number of' followed by a plural head noun.
'A number of' functions as a plural quantifier meaning 'several', requiring a plural verb, whereas 'the number of' denotes a singular total and takes a singular verb.
4
Determine the correct verb form for the second blank.
'have' is the required plural auxiliary verb form.
The plural subject expression 'a number of critical findings' must agree with the plural auxiliary verb 'have'.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord) with Single-Entity Noun Phrases, Quasi-Conjunctions, and Indefinite Quantifiers
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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