SAT Reading & Writing · Form, Structure, and Sense
The board of directors, despite representing several competing business interests, ______ in complete agreement on the merger proposal.
The board of directors, despite representing several competing business interests, ______ in complete agreement on the merger proposal.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Answer and explanation
Answer: C: was
"The board of directors" is treated as a single collective unit acting as one here, taking the singular verb *was*, and "despite representing several competing business interests" is a parenthetical phrase that doesn't change the number of the true subject. *Were* and *are* are both plural, incorrectly suggesting the board should be treated as multiple separate actors instead of the single decision-making body the sentence describes. *Have been* is also plural and additionally shifts to present perfect without any signal in the sentence calling for that tense change.
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