The mayor, along with several council members, _____ scheduled to speak at the rally this afternoon.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject–verb agreement questions, first cross out extra phrases set off by commas or starting with words like "along with," "together with," or "as well as" so you can clearly see the core subject and verb. Decide whether that subject is singular or plural, then eliminate any answer choices whose verbs don’t match that number. Finally, check that the verb tense makes sense with the time clues in the sentence (like "this afternoon," "yesterday," or "often") and pick the option that agrees in both number and tense.
Hints
Find the main subject
Mentally remove the phrase between the commas ("along with several council members") and see what the basic sentence looks like. What word is left as the subject?
Singular or plural?
Once you know the subject, ask: is this one person/thing or more than one? Your verb must match that number.
Consider the time of the action
The speaking will happen "this afternoon." Is the schedule something that happened in the past and is over, or is it something that exists now for a future event?
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the true subject of the sentence
Ignore the words between commas: "along with several council members" is an extra phrase.
The core of the sentence is:
"The mayor … scheduled to speak at the rally this afternoon."
So the subject is mayor, which is singular.
Decide on singular vs. plural verb
Because mayor is singular, the verb must also be singular.
Phrases like "along with several council members" do not change the subject from singular to plural. They are just additional information, not part of the main subject.
Match the tense to the time expression
The phrase "this afternoon" refers to something that will happen later today, but the scheduling exists now. So we usually use a present tense passive form like "__ scheduled" to show that the event is currently on the schedule.
Choose the verb that is both singular and present
Now check the answer choices:
- "are" = present, plural
- "were" = past, plural
- "have been" = present perfect, plural
- "is" = present, singular
Only "is" is both singular and in the appropriate tense, so the correct answer is D) is.