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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

In the sentence, 'Either of the proposed budgetary amendments _____ to be discussed thoroughly before the parliamentary committee votes on the final bill', which verb form properly maintains subject-verb concord?

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

Answer

is
The correct answer uses 'is' because the grammatical subject of the sentence is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Either'. Intervening prepositional phrases such as 'of the proposed budgetary amendments' do not alter the singular number of the head subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical head subject of the clause.
The true subject of the clause is the pronoun 'Either'.
The prepositional phrase 'of the proposed budgetary amendments' is a modifier and does not function as the grammatical subject.
2
Determine the grammatical number required by the head subject.
'Either' is a singular indefinite pronoun requiring a singular verb.
Standard English concord rules dictate that indefinite pronouns such as 'either', 'neither', 'each', and 'every' take singular verbs.
3
Match the subject with the correct verb form.
'is' is the only singular present verb form offered.
The singular verb 'is' matches the singular head subject 'Either', satisfying subject-verb agreement.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord and Error of Proximity
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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