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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Every one of the regional representatives who attended the annual agricultural summit _____ expected to submit a detailed report to the ministry. Which verb form correctly completes the sentence?

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

Answer

The correct option is the singular verb 'is'.
The sentence requires a singular verb because the head subject is the singular indefinite pronoun 'Every one'. The intervening plural noun phrase ('of the regional representatives') and the relative clause ('who attended the annual agricultural summit') modify the subject but do not change its singular grammatical number. Therefore, the singular verb 'is' is the only grammatically accurate selection.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the true head subject of the main clause.
The head noun phrase is 'Every one of the regional representatives'. Within this phrase, 'Every one' is the singular indefinite pronoun head.
Prepositional phrases like 'of the regional representatives' and relative clauses like 'who attended...' act as modifiers and do not alter the number of the head subject.
2
Apply the rule of concord for indefinite pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns such as 'every one', 'each', 'everyone', and 'nobody' take a singular verb.
Grammatical concord requires agreement in number between the subject and the verb.
3
Select the correct singular verb form.
The singular auxiliary verb 'is' agrees properly with 'Every one'.
Plural forms ('are', 'were', 'have been') incorrectly agree with plural modifier nouns rather than the head subject.

Key Concept

Indefinite Pronoun Concord and Error of Proximity
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

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