Examkin

Soru

Zorluk: OrtaSubject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Which verb form correctly completes the sentence below?

"Neither of the senior administrative officers ______ present at the budget defence yesterday."

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

Cevap

The correct option is 'was' because the indefinite pronoun 'Neither' takes a singular verb.
The correct choice is 'was'. The indefinite pronoun 'Neither' functions as the head of the subject phrase and is grammatically singular, requiring a singular verb. The adverb 'yesterday' indicates that the simple past tense is required, making 'was' the only grammatically correct option.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the true subject head noun of the sentence.
The subject head is the indefinite pronoun 'Neither', not the plural noun 'officers' within the prepositional phrase.
Prepositional modifiers located between the subject pronoun and the verb do not alter the grammatical number of the subject.
2
Determine the grammatical number and required verb form.
The indefinite pronoun 'Neither' is grammatically singular in standard formal English and requires a singular past tense verb ('was').
The temporal marker 'yesterday' specifies a completed past action, requiring the simple past form.
3
Select the option that matches the required singular past verb form.
The form 'was' correctly satisfies both grammatical concord and tense requirements.
It agrees in number with 'Neither' and in tense with 'yesterday'.

Anahtar Kavram

Subject-Verb Concord with Indefinite Pronouns
Bu soruyu puanla

Konular

Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

Bu konudan daha fazla soru