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Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which of the following verb forms correctly completes the sentence below?

"Neither of the proposed solutions to the environmental crisis _______ deemed feasible by the parliamentary committee during yesterday's debate."

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

Answer

The correct option is 'was'.
The indefinite pronoun 'Neither' is the singular head of the subject clause. In formal standard English, 'neither' takes a singular verb. Coupled with the past temporal indicator 'yesterday's debate', the singular past verb form 'was' is the only grammatically correct option.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true grammatical subject of the sentence
The subject head is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither'.
The phrase 'of the proposed solutions' is a prepositional modifier and does not change the singular nature of the subject head.
2
Apply the rule of concord for indefinite pronouns
'Neither' requires a singular verb in standard formal English.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'neither', 'either', and 'each' are grammatically singular when used as subjects.
3
Align verb tense with contextual time indicators
The adverbial phrase 'during yesterday's debate' requires past tense, selecting 'was' over present tense options.
The verb must satisfy both singular agreement and past tense context.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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