Identify the grammatical error in the sentence: 'A comprehensive collection of rare Byzantine coins and manuscripts were sold at the international auction.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. subject-verb agreement
- Step 1: The grammatical head of the subject noun phrase is the singular noun 'collection', not the plural nouns inside the prepositional phrase ('coins and manuscripts'). The singular subject 'collection' requires the singular verb 'was sold' rather than the plural 'were sold'. Answer: subject-verb agreement. Why not the others: "dangling participial modifier" involves a participle lacking a logical agent to modify in the sentence; "incomplete comparative phrase" omits essential words in a comparison, resulting in ambiguity or illogic; "ambiguous pronoun reference" occurs when a pronoun could refer to more than one preceding antecedent.
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