Read the sentence and identify the underlined part that contains an error. If…
2023
Read the sentence and identify the underlined part that contains an error. If no underlined part contains an error, choose ‘None of the above’.
She neither confirms nor deny the rumour.
Answer: C. deny the rumour. — ConceptIn the simple present, a third-person singular subject such as “she” takes the third-person singular verb form, normally formed with -s or -es. When…
- A.
She neither
- B.
confirms nor
- C.
deny the rumour.
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
In the simple present, a third-person singular subject such as “she” takes the third-person singular verb form, normally formed with -s or -es.
When neither … nor coordinates two predicates with the same subject, each finite verb must agree with that subject; parallel predicates do not cancel subject–verb agreement.
Application
Identify the subject: “She” is third-person singular.
Check the first predicate: “confirms” is the third-person singular present form of “confirm.”
Check the second predicate: “deny” is the base present form; with “she,” it must be “denies.”
The corrected sentence is: “She neither confirms nor denies the rumour.”
Contrast
“She neither” correctly supplies the subject and opens the correlative neither … nor construction.
“confirms nor” uses the singular verb “confirms” and introduces the second coordinated predicate with “nor.”
“More than one of the above” would require at least two independently defective underlined segments, which the agreement check does not produce.
“None of the above” would require every underlined segment to satisfy the grammar rules, but the uninflected verb “deny” conflicts with “she.”
Cross-check
Substituting the corrected form gives two parallel singular verbs—“confirms” and “denies”—with the same singular subject “she.”
Result
The error is in “deny the rumour.”; the verb should be “denies.”