Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:
The presumption, not that the policies themselves were ill-conceived but rather that their rhetorical framing—laden with abstractions alien to grassroots discourse— (1) / have contributed more to civic apathy (2) / than implementation failures per se, reflects a deeper institutional detachment (3) / than previously acknowledged. (4)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. (2).
Error Analysis: Subject-Verb Agreement
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The Subject: The subject of the sentence is the singular noun "presumption" (in part 1).
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The Intervening Phrase: The section beginning with "not that the policies..." and ending with "...grassroots discourse" acts as a parenthetical explanation. It describes what the presumption is about, but it does not change the number of the subject.
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The Verb: In part (2), the verb used is "have contributed." Since the subject ("presumption") is singular, the verb must also be singular.
Correcting the Sentence
The plural auxiliary verb "have" must be replaced with the singular "has" to maintain agreement with "presumption."
Corrected Phrase: ...has contributed more to civic apathy...
Hence, option (2) contains the error.