A verb agreement question with paired verbs tests whether both match their shared subject. Sort each verb form by whether it fits one thing, it, or more than one, they. Then find the true subject by asking what the verbs describe and crossing out phrases that add details. Two subjects joined by and are plural, but extra information doesn't change the subject's number. Check both verbs, because a choice can match the subject once and miss it later.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look at the long stretch before the blank. Ask what the missing verbs describe, rather than choosing a noun because it sits nearby.
- Hint 2
What job does the phrase beginning with together with do? Look at whether it adds a subject or adds details.
- Hint 3
Set aside the phrases that add details, then shrink the remaining subject to it or they. Use that same subject to test both verbs supplied by the blank.
Step-by-step
Match both verbs to the true subject
Step 1Sort the verb forms
Sort each choice's two verbs by number: singular for one thing and plural for more than one. A present-tense verb ending in -s and the helper is are singular; the form without -s and are are plural. The blank supplies a pair of verbs before separately from broader measures, so we need each verb to match its subject's number.
- Step 2
Clear away the added phrases
What makes up the monetary base and is being reported? Cross out of notes and coins held by the public, which gives details about the stock. Next, together with the reserve balances adds information rather than joining another subject the way and would. Cross out that entire phrase through the closing comma, including the part about what banks maintain. That leaves the stock, so the true subject is one stock, not the notes, coins, balances, or banks.
- Step 3
Follow the shared subject
Does the and in the choices introduce a new subject for the reporting? It joins two things said about the stock: what it makes up and how it's reported. Since no new subject appears after and, the subject of the first verb is also the subject of the second. Each verb must use a singular form.
- Step 4
Check the pair with it
Shrink the stock to it and try the pair: it constitutes the monetary base and is reported separately. With constitutes and is reported, both verbs pass the it check, so that pairing completes the sentence. Choice A.