Neither (A) the midlife career applicant nor (B) the young, inexperienced applicant are(C) finding it easy to begin (D) a career.Find error
Correct answer: C. are
- A. Neither
- B. nor
- C. are
- D. to begin
Explanation
In the sentence, 'Neither...nor' connects two singular subjects: 'the midlife career applicant' and 'the young, inexperienced applicant'. According to the rules of subject-verb agreement, when using 'neither...nor', the verb should agree with the nearest subject, which in this case is 'the young, inexperienced applicant'. Thus, the correct form of the verb is 'is'. The option 'are' is incorrect because it suggests a plural subject. The other options, 'Neither' and 'nor', are not errors in this context, and 'to begin' is also correct, though the gerund 'beginning' could enhance the sentence's flow.
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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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