Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:
Neither the projection of growth nor the estimation of deficit trends (1)/ appear to have accounted for the liquidity constraints (2)/ that small-scale ventures face (3)/ during cyclical downturns in demand.(4)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. (2)
Error concept: Agreement of verb with the nearest subject.
What is wrong: The verb appear is plural, but it should agree with the nearer subject estimation, which is singular.
Grammatical concept: When two singular subjects are joined by neither...nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: The subject estimation is singular, hence the verb should also be singular — appears, not appear.
How to correct: The verb must change to appears to maintain agreement with the singular subject.
Correct phrase / correction: appears
Final sentence: Neither the projection of growth nor the estimation of deficit trends appears to have accounted for the liquidity constraints that small-scale ventures face during cyclical downturns in demand.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.