Choose the correct form: The committee ____ divided on the proposal.
Correct answer: B. are
- A. is
- B. are
- C. was being
- D. has
Explanation
A collective noun takes a plural verb when the members are acting as individuals rather than as a single unit, and being divided is precisely that situation. If the committee acted as one body the singular would be right, as in the committee has issued its report. Testing which sense is meant is the whole point of this question type.
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About Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement requires the verb to match the true subject in number and person, even when other words intervene. Questions cover collective nouns, compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, either and neither, relative clauses, quantities and inverted sentences, where proximity can falsely suggest the wrong verb.
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