Identify the part containing a grammatical or structural error: The jury was divided in their opinions.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
The part containing the error in the sentence "The jury was divided in their opinions" is was divided.
The sentence should be corrected to: "The jury were divided in their opinions."
Explanation:
Collective Nouns: Words like "jury," "committee," or "team" are collective nouns. They take a singular verb when the group acts as a single unit (e.g., "The jury has reached a verdict").
Noun of Multitude: When the members of the group are acting individually or are in disagreement (as indicated by the word "divided" and the plural pronoun "their"), the noun is treated as plural.
Subject-Verb Agreement: Because the jury members have different opinions, they are viewed as individuals. Therefore, the plural verb were must be used instead of the singular "was" to maintain grammatical consistency with the plural pronoun ‘their’.