Select the correct pronoun: Neither the department head nor the research associates ______ willing to compromise on the experimental protocol.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. were
- Step 1: Identify rule of proximity for correlative conjunctions: When subjects are joined by 'neither... nor', the finite verb agrees in number with the closer subject.
- Step 2: Identify closer subject: 'the research associates' is plural.
- Step 3: Select the plural past auxiliary: 'were'.
Answer
were.
Why not the others: 'was', 'is', and 'has been' are singular verb forms that violate proximity agreement with the plural noun 'associates'.
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