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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by providing the correct form of the auxiliary verb that satisfies the rules of subject-verb agreement.

Answer:The number of structural flaws discovered in the newly constructed high-rise building 【has】 raised severe safety concerns among urban planners.

Answer

The correct auxiliary verb to complete the sentence is 'has'.
The subject phrase begins with 'The number of', which strictly takes a singular verb ('has'). Although 'structural flaws' is plural, it is contained within a prepositional modifier and does not alter the singular nature of the main subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence structure.
The subject is introduced by the expression 'The number of', which makes the noun phrase grammatically singular.
In standard English concord, 'the number of' specifies a single metric/count and requires a singular verb, unlike 'a number of' which takes a plural verb.
2
Select the verb form that agrees in number and tense with the singular subject.
The singular present-perfect auxiliary verb 'has' correctly agrees with 'The number'.
The singular subject 'The number' mandates the singular auxiliary verb 'has' before the past participle 'raised'.

Key Concept

The grammatical expression 'the number of' takes a singular verb, whereas 'a number of' takes a plural verb.
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Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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