Question

The rise and fall of the tide is being monitored by meteorologists during the monsoon.
Choose the option that best corrects the underlined word. [Advanced]

• A. NO CHANGE
• B. are
• C. were
• D. will

Answer 1

Answer: (A)

'The rise and fall of the tide' is a compound subject. In the given sentence, rise and fall is not to be taken as two separate subjects because we are referring to the 'rise and fall of the tide' as one complete idea in spite of being joined by 'and'. Therefore, we need a singular verb to agree with our singular compound subject. Option A is the correct option because the given sentence does not need to be changed as the underlined verb 'is' agrees with our singular compound subject. Options B, C, and D are plural in nature and would not fit with our singular subject.