English Grammar - Spotting Errors

English Grammar
English Grammar - Spotting Errors

Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: That the report failed to address the root causes (1)/ of the community unrest were surprising (2)/ given the exhaustive data (3)/ compiled over several months. (4)


Options:

  1. (1)
  2. (2)
  3. (3)
  4. (4)

Right Answer: (2)

The subject of this sentence is the whole noun clause beginning 'That the report failed to address the root causes of the community unrest'. A noun clause acting as a subject is always treated as singular, so it must take a singular verb. Part two uses the plural verb 'were surprising', which does not agree with the singular clause subject and should be 'was surprising'. The plural noun 'causes' standing close to the verb is a deliberate distractor. Parts one, three and four are all grammatically sound. Hence the error lies in part (2).

This question is part of English Grammar - Spotting Errors, which has 15 practice questions with answers.

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