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Question

Difficulty: HardSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which option correctly completes the sentence below?

"Professor Danjuma is the only one of the committee members who _____ consistently opposed the proposed administrative restructuring."

  1. hasAnswer
  2. B
    have
  3. C
    are
  4. D
    were

Answer

The correct option is 'has'.
In standard English concord, when a relative clause follows 'the only one of + plural noun', the relative pronoun 'who' takes a singular verb because 'the only one' singles out one individual as the sole subject performing the action. Therefore, the singular present perfect auxiliary 'has' is required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject-noun phrase and the structure governing the relative clause.
The sentence uses the specific grammatical structure 'the only one of + plural noun + relative pronoun (who)'.
Determining whether the relative pronoun refers to 'one' or the plural noun 'committee members' dictates whether a singular or plural verb is needed.
2
Apply the rule of concord for 'the only one of...'.
Unlike 'one of the [plural noun] who [plural verb]', adding 'the only' restricts the focus exclusively to the singular antecedent 'one'.
Because 'one' is the true antecedent of 'who', the verb following 'who' must be singular.
3
Select the correct singular verb form that fits the aspect of the sentence.
'has' is singular present perfect, correctly completing 'has consistently opposed'.
The singular verb 'has' satisfies both grammatical agreement with 'one' and perfect aspect with the past participle 'opposed'.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with 'The Only One Of' Relative Clauses
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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