Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement when a plural noun appears in a prepositional phrase after the subject?

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement when a plural noun appears in a prepositional phrase after the subject?

• A. One of the students is selected.
• B. One of the students are selected.
• C. One of the student are selected.
• D. One of the student is selected.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is subject-verb agreement with a main subject that is singular, even when a plural noun appears inside a prepositional phrase after it. In a construction like one of the students, the word one is the actual subject, and it is singular. The prepositional phrase of the students does not change that, so the verb should be singular: is. So the sentence that shows correct agreement is One of the students is selected. Here “is” matches the singular subject “one.” The other options break agreement: using are with a singular subject, or using the singular noun student inside the prepositional phrase (which should be plural to fit the phrase one of the students).

The key idea is subject-verb agreement with a main subject that is singular, even when a plural noun appears inside a prepositional phrase after it. In a construction like one of the students, the word one is the actual subject, and it is singular. The prepositional phrase of the students does not change that, so the verb should be singular: is.

So the sentence that shows correct agreement is One of the students is selected. Here “is” matches the singular subject “one.” The other options break agreement: using are with a singular subject, or using the singular noun student inside the prepositional phrase (which should be plural to fit the phrase one of the students).