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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Supply the appropriate verb form that maintains grammatical concord in the sentence below.

Answer:A comprehensive series of lectures on environmental sustainability, alongside several practical workshops, 【is】 scheduled to take place next month.

Answer

The singular verb form 'is' (or 'has been') correctly completes the blank.
The main head noun of the sentence subject is the singular noun 'series'. Subordinate parenthetical additions introduced by quasi-conjunctions such as 'alongside', 'together with', or 'as well as' do not pluralize the head noun. Thus, the singular verb 'is' (or 'has been') maintains correct subject-verb concord.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary grammatical subject of the clause.
The grammatical subject is the noun phrase headed by the singular collective noun 'series' ('A comprehensive series of lectures').
Prepositional phrases like 'of lectures' and qualifying expressions introduced by 'alongside' do not change the grammatical number of the main head noun.
2
Apply subject-verb agreement rules to select the appropriate verb form.
The singular head noun 'series' requires a singular verb ('is' or 'has been') rather than a plural verb ('are' or 'have been').
Under standard rules of concord, intervening plural nouns such as 'workshops' or 'lectures' within modifier phrases must not cause false attraction.

Key Concept

Subject-Verb Agreement with Singular Head Nouns and Intervening Parenthetical Expressions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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