Find the part of the sentence that contains an error:
Only after the final audit report was submitted (1)/ did the committee realize (2)/ that the estimates, although well-documented, (3)/ has omitted indirect liabilities. (4)
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. (4).
Error Concept: related to subject-verb agreement and incorrect auxiliary verb usage.
What is wrong: The verb phrase “has omitted” is incorrectly used in the sentence.
Grammar Concept: When the subject is plural, we use “have” instead of “has” in the present perfect tense. Here, the subject is “the estimates,” which is plural.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Since “estimates” is a plural noun, the singular auxiliary verb “has” is incorrect.
Correction: Thus, “has omitted” should be replaced with “have omitted.”
Corrected phrase: have omitted indirect liabilities.
Final sentence: Only after the final audit report was submitted did the committee realize that the estimates, although well-documented, have omitted indirect liabilities.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.