Identify the sentence that correctly maintains subject-verb agreement with an intervening prepositional phrase:
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The cluster of high-speed servers in the basement datacenters operates continuously.
- Step 1: Identify the core subject of the sentence: the collective singular noun 'cluster'.
- Step 2: The plural nouns 'servers' and 'datacenters' inside intervening prepositional phrases do not alter the singular subject, which takes the singular verb 'operates'.
Answer
The cluster of high-speed servers in the basement datacenters operates continuously.
Why not the others: 'operate', 'are operating', and 'were operating' all take plural agreement, erroneously matching the object of the preposition instead of the head noun.
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