In each of the following sentences, a part of the sentence is underlined.…
2023
In each of the following sentences, a part of the sentence is underlined. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of phrasing the underlined part are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.
Neither of the two boys’ explanations were satisfactory.
- A.
Neither of the two boys’ explanations were
- B.
Neither of the two boys’ explanation were
- C.
Neither of the two boys’ explanations was
- D.
Neither of the two boy's explanations were
Attempted by 5 students.
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Correct answer: C
Correct answer: Option 3 — “Neither of the two boys’ explanations was.”
This sentence-improvement item tests two points: subject–verb agreement with “neither,” and the correct possessive form.
1. Verb agreement: When “neither of” is the subject, it is treated as singular (“not one and not the other”), so it takes a singular verb. The plural noun in the “of” phrase (“explanations”) does not change this; the verb must be singular: “was,” not “were.”
2. Possessive form: There are two boys, so the possessor is plural. A plural noun already ending in -s takes the apostrophe after the s: “the two boys’.” Each boy gave his own explanation, so the possessed noun is plural: “explanations.”
Putting these together gives “Neither of the two boys’ explanations was satisfactory,” which is option 3. The original (option 1) is wrong only in the verb; options 2 and 4 introduce a further error (a wrong noun number or a wrong possessive apostrophe).