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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

In the sentence below, supply the auxiliary verb form that correctly satisfies the rules of grammatical concord for each blank.

Answer:Three-quarters of the damaged agricultural yield 【has】 already been discarded, while more than one local farmer 【has】 appealed for emergency subsidies.

Answer

The correct auxiliary verb for both blanks is 'has'.
For the first blank, 'Three-quarters of' is followed by the singular uncountable noun 'yield', requiring the singular auxiliary verb 'has'. For the second blank, the noun phrase 'more than one local farmer' follows the standard rule of formal concord where 'more than one' plus a singular noun demands a singular verb ('has').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the subject structure for the first blank: 'Three-quarters of the damaged agricultural yield'.
The noun following the fraction 'Three-quarters of' is 'yield', which is an uncountable singular noun.
When a fraction or percentage modifies an uncountable or singular noun, the verb must be singular ('has').
2
Analyze the subject structure for the second blank: 'more than one local farmer'.
The subject uses the fixed grammatical expression 'more than one' followed by a singular countable noun ('farmer').
By the rule of formal concord in Standard English, the structure 'more than one + singular noun' strictly requires a singular verb ('has'), regardless of the plural implied meaning.

Key Concept

Fractional Concord and 'More Than One' Concord Rule
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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