Question 12·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
While historians disagree about the exact causes of the devastating library fire that destroyed thousands of irreplaceable manuscripts in 1914, most accept that neither the political turmoil surrounding the revolution nor the severe budget reduction ___ solely to blame.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject-verb agreement questions, first strip away extra information (introductory clauses, prepositional phrases, descriptive details) to isolate the core subject and verb. In constructions like "neither … nor …," make the verb agree with the part of the subject closest to the verb. Then check tense: match it to the time frame of the main verbs in the sentence. Finally, quickly eliminate any answer choices that are wrong in either number (singular vs. plural) or tense, and choose the one that fits both.
Hints
Find the key subject for the blank
Ignore the opening "While historians disagree..." part. Focus on the words right before the blank that actually act as the subject of the verb you’re choosing.
Look closely at the “neither … nor …” structure
In a "neither X nor Y" phrase, ask: which noun, X or Y, is closest to the verb? That noun usually controls whether the verb is singular or plural.
Check whether the sentence is talking about now or the past
The verbs "disagree" and "accept" are in a certain tense. Make sure the verb you choose in the blank matches that time frame.
Eliminate by number and tense
Compare each answer choice: is it singular or plural? Present or past? Cross out any that do not match both the subject’s number and the sentence’s time frame.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the verb that needs to be completed
The blank is part of the clause:
"most accept that neither the political turmoil surrounding the revolution nor the severe budget reduction ___ solely to blame."
So you are choosing the correct form of the verb in this that-clause: "that neither ... nor the severe budget reduction ___ solely to blame."
Identify the full subject of the verb
The subject of the verb is the entire phrase starting with "neither":
"neither the political turmoil surrounding the revolution nor the severe budget reduction"
This is a neither … nor … construction, which joins two items:
- first item: "the political turmoil surrounding the revolution"
- second item: "the severe budget reduction"
Apply the rule for “neither … nor …” subject-verb agreement
With "neither … nor …" subjects, English usually makes the verb agree with the part of the subject that is closest to the verb.
Here, the noun right before the verb is "the severe budget reduction," which is singular.
So the verb must be singular to match "reduction."
Decide on the correct tense
Now think about when this judgment happens.
The sentence says: "While historians disagree … most accept that …" Both verbs "disagree" and "accept" are in the present tense, showing what historians think now about the causes.
So the verb in the that-clause should also be in present tense, not a past or completed-time form.
Match number and tense to an answer choice
You need a verb that is:
- singular (to agree with "reduction") and
- present tense (to match "accept").
Checking the choices:
- "are" is present but plural.
- "is" is present and singular.
- "were" is past and plural.
- "have been" is present perfect and plural.
Only B) is fits both the required number and tense, so "is" correctly completes the sentence.