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Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Choose the option that accurately maintains subject-verb concord in the following sentence:

"Each of the structural engineers, along with the project supervisors, _____ required to sign the safety audit before construction can resume."

Which word correctly completes the sentence?

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

Answer

The correct option is 'is', because the singular indefinite pronoun 'Each' is the grammatical subject of the sentence.
The sentence head is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Each', which strictly requires a singular verb. The intervening phrase introduced by 'along with' is parenthetical and does not pluralize the subject. Therefore, the singular verb 'is' correctly fulfills the rule of subject-verb concord.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical head of the subject phrase.
The true subject is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Each'.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'Each', 'Every', and 'Either' function as singular head subjects.
2
Evaluate the effect of the intervening phrase.
The phrase 'along with the project supervisors' is a prepositional/parenthetical modifier and does not make the subject compound or plural.
Prepositional expressions like 'along with', 'as well as', and 'together with' do not join subjects conjunctively like 'and' does.
3
Select the singular verb form that matches the head subject.
The singular present tense verb 'is' establishes proper grammatical concord.
Singular subjects require singular verbs in present tense statements.

Key Concept

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

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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