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The number of guests at the party . . . . . . . . amazing.

A. have had

B. had

C. were

D. was

Answer: Option D

Solution (By Examveda Team)

The correct answer is D: was.

First, let's define the grammatical concept at play here: subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement means that the verb in a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural) with its subject. The subject is the noun or pronoun performing the action of the verb.

In this sentence, the subject is "number," which is a singular noun. Even though the number refers to a group of guests, the word itself is singular. Therefore, the verb must also be singular.

Let's examine why the other options are incorrect:

Option A: have had – This is incorrect because "have had" is a plural verb form. It requires a plural subject.

Option B: had – While "had" is the past tense of "have," it still requires a singular subject. In this context, "had" would suggest a singular subject was in possession of something. The sentence is describing the number of guests, not describing something belonging to the number.

Option C: were – This is incorrect because "were" is the plural form of the verb "to be." The subject "number" is singular, requiring a singular verb.

Therefore, only "was" (the singular past tense of "to be") correctly agrees with the singular subject "number." The complete sentence is: "The number of guests at the party was amazing."

This Question Belongs to Competitive English >> Grammar

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