This book, including all its chapters, _______ interesting. The students as well as the instructor _________ in agreement about it.
Correct Answer
Solution & Step-by-step Explanation
This question tests understanding of subject-verb agreement in English grammar, particularly focusing on collective nouns and compound subjects joined by phrases like "as well as". Let's break down each part of the sentence:
Identifying Subject-Verb Agreement for the First Blank
The first sentence is: "This book, including all its chapters, _______ interesting."
- Subject Identification: The main subject of the sentence is "This book".
- Intervening Phrase: The phrase "including all its chapters" acts as a prepositional phrase. Phrases introduced by "including", "along with", "together with", "as well as", etc., do not affect the number of the subject. The verb must agree with the main subject.
- Verb Agreement: Since "This book" is a singular subject, the verb must also be singular. The correct singular, present tense form is "is".
Therefore, the first blank should be filled with "is".
Identifying Subject-Verb Agreement for the Second Blank
The second part of the sentence is: "The students as well as the instructor _________ in agreement about it."
- Subject Structure: This part has a compound subject: "The students" and "the instructor", joined by the correlative conjunction "as well as".
- Grammar Rule: When two subjects are joined by "as well as", "along with", "together with", or "in addition to", the verb agrees with the subject that comes before the conjunction phrase.
- Verb Agreement: The subject preceding "as well as" is "The students", which is plural. Therefore, the verb must be plural. The correct plural, present tense form is "are".
Thus, the second blank should be filled with "are".
Conclusion
Combining the findings for both blanks, the correct verb pair is "is, are". This matches the third option provided.
Identifying Subject-Verb Agreement for the First Blank
The first sentence is: "This book, including all its chapters, _______ interesting."
- Subject Identification: The main subject of the sentence is "This book".
- Intervening Phrase: The phrase "including all its chapters" acts as a prepositional phrase. Phrases introduced by "including", "along with", "together with", "as well as", etc., do not affect the number of the subject. The verb must agree with the main subject.
- Verb Agreement: Since "This book" is a singular subject, the verb must also be singular. The correct singular, present tense form is "is".
Therefore, the first blank should be filled with "is".
Identifying Subject-Verb Agreement for the Second Blank
The second part of the sentence is: "The students as well as the instructor _________ in agreement about it."
- Subject Structure: This part has a compound subject: "The students" and "the instructor", joined by the correlative conjunction "as well as".
- Grammar Rule: When two subjects are joined by "as well as", "along with", "together with", or "in addition to", the verb agrees with the subject that comes before the conjunction phrase.
- Verb Agreement: The subject preceding "as well as" is "The students", which is plural. Therefore, the verb must be plural. The correct plural, present tense form is "are".
Thus, the second blank should be filled with "are".
Conclusion
Combining the findings for both blanks, the correct verb pair is "is, are". This matches the third option provided.