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    Question

    Read each sentence to find out whether there is any grammatical error in it. The error, if any, will be in one part of the sentence. Mark the part with the error as your answer. If there is no error, mark ‘No error’ as your answer (Ignore the errors of punctuation, if any).

    The army men or their only commander-in-chief (A)/were

    not ready (B)/to accept defeat so easily, (C)/so they fought fiercely (D).
    A The army men or their only commander-in-chief Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    B were not ready Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    C to accept defeat so easily Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    D so they fought fiercely Correct Answer Incorrect Answer
    E No error Correct Answer Incorrect Answer

    Solution

    When a compound subject containing a singular and plural subject are connected by ‘or’ or ’nor’, the verb should agree with the part of sentence that is closest to the verb. So here, ‘was’ is correct because ‘commander-in-chief’ is singular. The army men or their only commander-in-chief was not ready to accept defeat so easily, so they fought fiercely.

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