Neither the headmaster nor the teachers _____ present at the emergency staff briefing yesterday morning.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. were
- Step 1: In correlative structures using 'neither... nor', the verb agrees in number with the subject closer to it. Step 2. The nearer subject 'teachers' is plural, which requires the plural past tense verb 'were'. Answer: were. Why not the others: 'Was' and 'is' are singular forms; 'are' is present tense whereas the sentence specifies 'yesterday morning'.
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