16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardSingular verb for a plural-looking title

Standard English Conventions practice question

'Great Expectations' ____ still widely read more than 150 years after it appeared.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A. isCorrect
  2. B. are
  3. C. were
  4. D. have been

Answer: A. is

The subject is one novel, whatever its title looks like, so the verb is singular: 'is'. The sentence's own 'it' confirms this.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. are
'are' agrees with the plural-looking word 'Expectations', but the subject is a single book.
C. were
'were' is plural and past.
D. have been
'have been' is plural.

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