His pants _ torn during the match.
Correct answer: C. Were
- A. Is
- B. Are
- C. Were
- D. Was
Explanation
Option A, "is," is the present tense form of the verb "to be," which is not appropriate for a past event. Option B, "are," is the present tense form of the verb "to be," which is not appropriate for a past event. Option C, The sentence uses the past tense to describe an action that occurred in the past, so the correct verb to use is "were," which is the past tense form of the verb "to be." "Pants" is a plural noun, so "were" agrees with the plural subject. Option D, "was," is the past tense form of the verb "to be," but it is not appropriate for a plural subject.
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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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