Choose the option that correctly completes the sentence: 'Neither the lead engineer nor the laboratory assistants _______ aware of the calibration error until the test concluded.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. were
- Step 1: In correlative conjunctions using 'neither... nor', the verb must agree in number with the closer subject noun phrase.
- Step 2: The closer subject is 'the laboratory assistants' (plural). Because the event occurred in the past ('until the test concluded'), the correct plural past tense form is 'were'.
Answer
were.
Why not the others: 'was' agrees with a singular subject; 'are' is present tense; 'is' is singular present tense.
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