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Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Read the sentence below and identify the verb form that satisfies the rules of grammatical concord:

'The lead consultant, alongside the software engineers who designed the backend architecture, _______ invited to address the board of directors tomorrow.'

Which of the following options correctly completes the sentence?

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

Answer

The correct option is the singular present-tense auxiliary verb 'is'.
The sentence features a singular head subject ('The lead consultant') connected to a modifying noun phrase by the quasi-conjunction 'alongside'. In standard English grammar, expressions introduced by 'alongside', 'as well as', or 'together with' are parenthetical and do not pluralize the subject. Therefore, the verb must agree in singular number with the head subject, making the singular auxiliary verb 'is' the grammatically correct choice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true grammatical subject of the sentence.
The head subject is 'The lead consultant', which is singular.
Phrases introduced by parenthetical quasi-conjunctions such as 'alongside', 'together with', 'as well as', or 'in addition to' do not make a singular subject compound.
2
Filter out intervening plural modifier clauses.
'the software engineers who designed the backend architecture' functions as a prepositional/parenthetical modifier and does not alter the number of the main subject.
Grammatical concord requires matching the verb to the head noun, ignoring intervening plural nouns.
3
Select the correct singular verb consistent with the future temporal context.
The singular verb 'is' correctly completes the passive future construction 'is invited ... tomorrow'.
The head subject is singular, requiring a singular verb form.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Quasi-Conjunctions (Parenthetical Prepositional Expressions)
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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