Question 36·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
Neither the mayor nor the city council members ______ willing to compromise on the proposed budget cuts, leaving negotiations at an impasse.
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, especially in tricky patterns like “neither…nor” or “either…or.” Remember that with these correlative conjunctions, the verb usually agrees with the subject closest to it. Decide whether that closer subject is singular or plural, then eliminate any answer choices whose verb does not match in both number (singular/plural) and tense (present/past). This quick check often lets you rule out three choices immediately.
Hints
Find the subject of the sentence
Focus on the phrase before the blank: “Neither the mayor nor the city council members ______ willing…”. Identify who is doing the action of being willing (or not willing).
Pay attention to “neither…nor”
With “neither…nor”, look at the part of the subject that is closest to the verb to decide how the verb should agree.
Check number and tense
Look at “city council members” right before the blank. Ask yourself: does that suggest a single person or more than one, and which verb choice matches that in both number and time (present vs. past)?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the full subject
Look at the structure: “Neither the mayor nor the city council members ______ willing…”
The subject has two parts joined by “neither…nor”:
- the mayor
- the city council members
Both of these together form the compound subject of the sentence.
Recall the rule for “neither…nor”
With “neither…nor” (and also “either…or”), the verb agrees with the part of the subject that is closest to the verb, not automatically with the first part.
So here, we must check which part of the subject comes closest to the blank.
Determine the number (singular/plural) of the closer subject
The part of the subject closest to the blank is “the city council members.”
Ask: Is this singular or plural?
- “members” refers to more than one person, so it is plural.
Therefore, the verb that fills the blank must also be in a plural form to match this subject.
Match the correct verb form to the plural subject
Now check each answer choice and see which one is a present-tense plural verb that fits grammatically:
- A) is – singular present
- B) are – plural present
- C) has been – singular present perfect
- D) was – singular past
Only “are” is plural present, which correctly agrees with “city council members” and fits the sentence: “Neither the mayor nor the city council members are willing to compromise on the proposed budget cuts, leaving negotiations at an impasse.”