Read each of the following sentences to find out whether there is/are an error…
2023
Read each of the following sentences to find out whether there is/are an error or errors in any underlined part(s). If you feel that there is no error in a sentence, write (E) to signify ‘None of the above’.
Each of the member agreed.
Answer: B. of the member — ConceptA distributive expression such as ‘each of’ treats the subject as singular, but ‘of’ normally introduces a plural group: ‘each of the members’, ‘each…
- A.
Each
- B.
of the member
- C.
agreed.
- D.
More than one of the above
- E.
None of the above
Attempted by 1 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Concept
A distributive expression such as ‘each of’ treats the subject as singular, but ‘of’ normally introduces a plural group: ‘each of the members’, ‘each of the books’, and so on.
The verb then agrees with the singular head ‘each’; in the simple past, ‘agreed’ has the same form for singular and plural subjects.
Application
Identify the head of the subject: ‘Each’ is singular.
Inspect the prepositional phrase: ‘of the member’ names only one member, whereas the construction requires a plural set from which one member is considered.
Replace ‘member’ with ‘members’: ‘Each of the members agreed.’ The verb ‘agreed’ remains unchanged.
Contrast
‘Each’ correctly supplies the singular distributive head.
‘of the member’ contains the number mismatch; the noun after ‘each of the’ should be plural.
‘agreed’ is the correct simple-past verb form.
‘More than one of the above’ would require errors in multiple underlined parts.
‘None of the above’ would mean that no underlined part needs correction.
Result
Therefore, the erroneous underlined part is ‘of the member’; it should read ‘of the members’.