The following sentence has been split into four segments. Identify the segment that contains an error.
The committee’s decision / have been / a topic / of controversy.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. have been
Error Concept: Subject-verb agreement.
What is wrong: The verb “have been” is used incorrectly with the singular subject.
Grammar Concept: When the subject is singular, we use a singular verb. The word “committee” is a collective noun, and here it is acting as one unit, so it takes a singular verb.
Incorrectness of the concept in context: The sentence uses “have been” (plural verb), but “The committee’s decision” is singular, so we need to use “has been” instead.
Correction: Replace “have been” with “has been”.
Corrected phrase: has been
Final sentence: The committee’s decision has been a topic of controversy.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.