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Question

Difficulty: MediumSubject-Verb Agreement

In paleoclimatology, the chemical analysis of deep-sea sediment cores retrieved from the North Atlantic Ocean ______ critical evidence regarding historic shifts in oceanic currents. By measuring stable isotope ratios preserved in microfossils, researchers can reconstruct past seawater temperatures and trace changes in circulation patterns that occurred over millions of years.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. providesAnswer
  2. B
    provide
  3. C
    are providing
  4. D
    have provided

Answer

provides
The true subject of the sentence is the singular noun phrase 'the chemical analysis'. The prepositional phrase 'of deep-sea sediment cores retrieved from the North Atlantic Ocean' intervenes between the subject and the verb. Because the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. The singular verb form 'provides' correctly completes the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the subject of the sentence.
The subject is the noun phrase 'the chemical analysis', which is singular.
The verb must agree in number with the main subject of the sentence, not with any nouns in intervening prepositional phrases.
2
Identify and isolate the intervening phrase between the subject and the verb.
The phrase 'of deep-sea sediment cores retrieved from the North Atlantic Ocean' is a prepositional phrase that modifies 'analysis'.
Isolating this phrase helps prevent mistaking the plural nouns inside it, like 'cores', as the subject of the verb.
3
Select the verb form that agrees with the singular subject.
The singular verb form 'provides' is selected.
A singular subject requires a singular verb, whereas the other options ('provide', 'are providing', 'have provided') are plural.

Key Concept

Subject-verb agreement requires the verb to match the number (singular or plural) of its true subject, regardless of any intervening words or phrases.
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Topics

Subject-Verb Agreement

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