During the annual conference, each of the participating members, as well as…
2026
During the annual conference, each of the participating members, as well as the committee chairpersons, ______ expected to submit their reports by Friday afternoon to facilitate the audit process.
Answer: B. is — Concept — Subject–verb agreement is fixed by the head word of the subject, not by the noun standing nearest to the verb. Two standard rules govern a sentence…
- A.
are
- B.
is
- C.
have been
- D.
were
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Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept — Subject–verb agreement is fixed by the head word of the subject, not by the noun standing nearest to the verb. Two standard rules govern a sentence of this shape. First, a subject headed by each is grammatically singular, even when a prepositional phrase of the form of + plural noun follows it, because that phrase only modifies the head. Second, a phrase introduced by as well as, along with, together with or in addition to and set off by commas is parenthetical: it adds information but never changes the number of the subject.
Application — Working the rules through this sentence:
The subject head is each; of the participating members is a prepositional phrase modifying it, so the plural noun members cannot control the verb.
The comma-set phrase as well as the committee chairpersons is parenthetical. Lifting it out leaves During the annual conference, each of the participating members ______ expected to submit their reports, which shows the verb has to agree with each alone.
Because each is singular, the verb must carry singular agreement.
Agreement alone settles the choice: every other form offered — are, were and have been — carries plural agreement, so none of them can follow a singular head.
That leaves the singular simple-present form of be, which also matches the standing expectation reported at the conference: “…each of the participating members, as well as the committee chairpersons, is expected to submit their reports by Friday afternoon…”.
Cross-check — Testing the remaining forms against the same singular head:
are is the plural simple present, so it would need a plural head such as the members; the head here is each.
were is the plural simple past: it needs a plural head, and it also shifts the expectation into past time, whereas the sentence reports an expectation holding at the time of the conference.
have been is the plural present perfect: it needs a plural head, and it frames the state as begun earlier and continuing, which the sentence gives no basis for.
The same test works as a quick rule of thumb: cover the comma-set phrase, find the true head of the subject, and make the verb agree with that head.