Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence:
Neither the principal nor the teachers _____ present at the inter-house sports briefing yesterday.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. were
- Step 1: Under the rule of proximity with correlatives ('neither... nor...'), the finite verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
- Step 2: The noun closest to the blank is the plural 'teachers', and the past time marker 'yesterday' mandates the past plural verb 'were'.
Answer
were.
Why not the others: 'Was' is singular; 'are' and 'have been' violate the past time frame.
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