Question 25·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Each of the committee members _____ given a copy of the report.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject-verb agreement questions, first locate the true subject by ignoring prepositional phrases like "of the committee members." Decide whether that subject is singular or plural, then match it with a verb form that fits both in number (singular/plural) and tense (past/present) based on the meaning of the sentence. Be especially careful with words like "each," "everyone," and "none," which are often singular even when followed by a plural noun.
Hints
Find the subject
Focus on the phrase "Each of the committee members." Which word is actually the subject of the sentence?
Decide singular or plural
Ask yourself: Is the subject referring to one at a time (singular) or to the whole group together (plural)?
Match tense to the situation
Think about whether the action (being given a copy) happened in the past or is happening now, and choose a verb form that matches both the time and the subject.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the true subject
In the phrase "Each of the committee members," the true subject is "Each", not "committee members." The words "of the committee members" form a prepositional phrase that describes "Each."
Decide if the subject is singular or plural
The word "Each" is always singular, even though it may refer to multiple people or things. Because the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular to maintain subject-verb agreement.
Match tense and number with the verb
The sentence talks about something that already happened (they already received copies), so it needs a past tense verb that is singular to agree with the subject "Each." Among the choices, only "was" is both singular and in the simple past tense, so the correct sentence is: "Each of the committee members was given a copy of the report."