Question

Directions: In this question, a part of the given sentence has been underlined as this part may have an error. The first option is the same as the underlined part in the given sentence. Choose this option if you think that the underlined part has no error. Otherwise, choose the option that rectifies the error in the underlined part of the given sentence.
The committee rejected the proposal for several reasons, \(\underline{\text{ the chief among which were the cost of borrowing the money.}}\) 

• A. The chief among which were the cost of borrowing the money
• B. The chief among which was the cost of borrowing the money
• C. The chief which was the cost of borrowing the money
• D. Of which the chief were the cost of borrowing the money
• E. From which the chief were the cost of borrowing money

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

To solve this question, we need to identify any grammatical errors in the underlined part of the sentence and choose the most grammatically correct option. The sentence is:

"The committee rejected the proposal for several reasons, \(\underline{\text{ the chief among which were the cost of borrowing the money.}}\)"

Let's analyze the given options:

1. The chief among which were the cost of borrowing the money: This option repeats the original sentence. In this case, the subject "the cost" is singular, but "were" is a plural verb, resulting in a subject-verb agreement error.
2. The chief among which was the cost of borrowing the money: This option correctly uses "was" instead of "were" to agree with the singular subject "the cost." This sentence makes the subject and verb agree, thus eliminating the grammatical error.
3. The chief which was the cost of borrowing the money: This option removes the correct conjunction "among," resulting in a grammatically incorrect sentence. "Among" is required to indicate the selection from multiple reasons.
4. Of which the chief were the cost of borrowing the money: This option incorrectly constructs the sentence structure without considering the subject-verb agreement. Again, it uses "were" with the singular subject "the cost."
5. From which the chief were the cost of borrowing money: This option also fails due to incorrect verb usage. Additionally, "from" does not properly convey the relationship expressed by "among."

The correct answer is the second option: The chief among which was the cost of borrowing the money. This option resolves the subject-verb disagreement and maintains the intended meaning of the original sentence.