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Zorluk: ZorSubject-Verb Agreement

The sentence below has a blank where a verb is missing. Read the sentence carefully and determine the correct verb form. What is the correct present-tense form of the verb 'to be' that completes the sentence to maintain proper subject-verb agreement?

Cevap:Neither of the research proposals submitted by the physics department, despite containing groundbreaking theories on quantum entanglement, 【is】 considered viable by the review board.

Cevap

The correct present-tense verb to fill the blank is 'is'.
The correct present-tense verb form is 'is' because the subject is 'neither,' which is a singular indefinite pronoun. Singular subjects require singular verbs, regardless of any intervening prepositional phrases ('of the research proposals...') or parenthetical modifiers ('despite containing groundbreaking theories...').

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the subject of the clause.
The subject of the clause is the singular indefinite pronoun 'neither'. The phrase 'of the research proposals...' is a prepositional phrase modifying 'neither' and does not affect the number of the subject.
Subject-verb agreement is governed by the head noun or pronoun of the subject phrase, not by intervening prepositional modifiers.
2
Identify parenthetical or non-essential modifiers that intervene.
The phrase 'despite containing groundbreaking theories on quantum entanglement' is an appositive/parenthetical modifier. It contains plural nouns like 'theories' but does not change the singular nature of the subject.
Intervening phrases, clauses, or parentheticals do not change the number of the subject.
3
Match the singular subject with the correct present-tense form of the verb 'to be'.
The singular present-tense form of 'to be' is 'is'.
The singular subject 'neither' requires the singular verb 'is'.

Anahtar Kavram

Subject-Verb Agreement with Singular Indefinite Pronouns and Intervening Plural Modifiers
Bu soruyu puanla

Konular

Subject-Verb Agreement

Bu konudan daha fazla soru