Choose the suitable option for the blank in the sentence below: Not only my…

Concept

With correlative conjunctions such as ‘not only ... but also’, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. Forms of ‘be’ also agree with person and number: ‘I am’, ‘you/we/they are’, and ‘he/she/it is’.

Application

1. The two coordinated subjects are ‘my parents’ and ‘I’.

2. The subject nearest the blank is ‘I’.

3. The present participle ‘regretting’ requires a form of ‘be’; with ‘I’, that form is ‘am’.

4. The completed clause is ‘I am regretting the change of school’.

Contrast

• ‘are’ pairs with plural subjects or ‘you’, not with first-person singular ‘I’.

• ‘is’ pairs with a third-person singular subject, not with ‘I’.

• ‘No option is appropriate’ is excluded because ‘am’ forms a grammatical verb phrase with ‘I’.

Cross-check

Remove the first coordinated subject: ‘I am regretting the change of school’ remains grammatically complete. Therefore, the suitable word is ‘am’.