In the following questions, a few sentences are given. Identify the sentences…

Concept

Two core agreement rules govern these sentences. (1) Subject–verb agreement: a verb must agree in number with its subject — a plural subject takes a plural verb, a singular subject takes a singular verb. (2) Tense sequence: when one past action is completed before another past action, the earlier action takes the past perfect (had + past participle) and the later action takes the simple past.

Application

1. “The children was playing in the garden while their parents watched.” — “children” is a plural noun, so it needs the plural verb “were”, not the singular “was”. The correct form is “The children were playing…”. As written, this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

2. “By the time we arrived, the concert had already started.” — the concert starting happened before we arrived, so the earlier action correctly uses the past perfect “had already started” and the later action uses the simple past “arrived”. The tense sequence is correct and the sentence reads naturally. This sentence is grammatically and contextually correct.

3. “Neither of the candidates were prepared for the final interview.” — “Neither” is a singular determiner; in standard/formal English the verb agrees with “Neither” (singular), not with the plural noun “candidates” in the of-phrase. The correct form is “Neither of the candidates was prepared…”. As written, this sentence is grammatically incorrect.

Cross-check

Exactly one of the three sentences — the one about the concert — satisfies both agreement rules; the other two each break subject–verb agreement (plural subject with “was”, and singular “neither” with “were”). So the response naming only that sentence is the right one.