Four parts of the following sentence have been underlined. Select the part that is INCORRECT.
The past of man have been on the whole a pretty beastly business, a business of fighting, bullying and hurting.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1, i.e. man have been.
Error concept: Subject-verb agreement
What is wrong: The subject "The past" is singular, but the verb "have been" is plural, which is incorrect.
Grammatical concept: When the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular. This is called subject-verb agreement.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: Here, "The past" refers to time in general and is a singular noun, so it should be followed by "has been" (not "have been").
How to correct: Replace "have been" with "has been".
Correct phrase/ correction: The past of man has been, on the whole, a pretty beastly business...
Final sentence: The past of man has been, on the whole, a pretty beastly business, a business of fighting, bullying and hurting.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.