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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by filling in the blank with the grammatically correct verb form.

Answer:Either of the two shortlisted candidates 【is】 qualified to head the department.

Answer

is
The distributive indefinite pronoun 'Either' serves as the simple subject of the sentence. In formal concord rules, 'either' refers to one of two items individually and strictly requires a singular verb. Therefore, 'is' is the grammatically correct verb form.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical subject of the clause.
The subject is the indefinite pronoun phrase 'Either of the two shortlisted candidates'.
The head word of the subject phrase is the distributive indefinite pronoun 'Either'.
2
Apply the grammatical concord rule for distributive indefinite pronouns.
The pronoun 'Either' takes a singular verb despite being followed by the plural noun phrase 'shortlisted candidates'.
In standard formal English concord, distributive pronouns like 'either', 'neither', and 'each' refer to items individually and require singular agreement.
3
Select the correct singular present verb form.
The singular verb form 'is' correctly completes the sentence.
The singular present verb 'is' agrees in number with the singular subject 'Either'.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord (Distributive Pronouns)
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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