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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence by supplying the appropriate present tense form of the verb 'to be' that satisfies the rules of grammatical concord.

Answer:The principal researcher, together with her laboratory assistants, 【is】 currently conducting fieldwork in the Niger Delta region.

Answer

is
The correct verb is 'is' because the grammatical subject of the sentence is the singular noun phrase 'The principal researcher'. Phrases introduced by prepositional qualifiers like 'together with' are parenthetical and do not alter the singular agreement requirement of the main subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the head subject of the sentence.
The principal subject is 'The principal researcher', which is singular.
Expressions introduced by quasi-conjunctions such as 'together with', 'as well as', or 'in addition to' do not form a compound plural subject.
2
Select the verb form that agrees with the singular subject in the present tense.
The singular present tense verb required is 'is'.
Grammatical concord mandates that a singular subject takes a singular verb regardless of intervening plural nouns in parenthetical phrases.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Parenthetical Prepositional Phrases
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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