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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which of the following verb forms correctly completes the sentence below?

"Neither of the proposals submitted by the committee ______ acceptable to the board."

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

Answer

is
The verb 'is' is correct because it provides the singular present verb form required by the singular subject 'Neither'. Intervening plural modifiers such as 'of the proposals' do not alter the singular agreement requirement.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence.
The head subject is 'Neither', which is a singular indefinite pronoun.
Prepositional phrases like 'of the proposals submitted by the committee' modify the subject but do not alter its grammatical number.
2
Apply the rule of subject-verb agreement (concord).
A singular subject requires a singular verb form ('is').
Indefinite pronouns such as 'neither', 'either', and 'each' take singular verbs regardless of intervening plural nouns.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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