Choose the correct verb: The list of items ____ on the desk.
Correct answer: B. is
- A. are
- B. is
- C. were
- D. have been
Explanation
The subject is list, which is singular, and of items is merely a prepositional phrase that must be ignored when deciding the verb. Testers deliberately place a plural noun immediately before the verb to tempt the wrong choice. Strip the phrase out and the sentence reads the list is on the desk.
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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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