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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Complete the sentence below by supplying the grammatically correct verb form that maintains proper subject-verb agreement.

Answer:Neither the headmaster nor the assistant teachers 【were】 present at the morning assembly.

Answer

were
When subjects are connected by 'neither... nor', proximity concord applies, meaning the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. Because 'assistant teachers' is plural and directly precedes the verb, the plural verb form 'were' is required.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the compound subject structure connected by the correlative conjunction 'neither... nor'.
The subjects are 'the headmaster' (singular) and 'the assistant teachers' (plural).
Correlative conjunctions like 'neither... nor' mandate the application of the rule of proximity.
2
Determine which subject component is nearest to the verb slot.
The plural noun phrase 'the assistant teachers' is closest to {{blank_1}}.
Proximity concord dictates that the verb must match the number of the noun closest to it.
3
Choose the appropriate past-tense verb matching plural agreement.
The past-tense plural form of 'be' is 'were'.
'Were' correctly agrees with the plural noun 'assistant teachers'.

Key Concept

Proximity Concord with Correlative Conjunctions
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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