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NES Essential Academic Skills Writing Review: Grammar and usage

Review grammar and usage for this NES Essential Academic Skills Writing question with the key prompt clue, correct-answer reasoning, distractor checks, and sources to verify next.

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This question-specific review guide is tied to the answer reasoning for a PracticeTestVault item. Use it after you answer the question so the review stays focused on what the prompt actually tested.

What this question is testing

Objective: Grammar and usage

Prompt focus: Which sentence uses subject-verb agreement correctly?

Why the correct answer works

Neither of the answers is correct.

Correct. Neither is a singular indefinite pronoun and correctly takes the singular verb is.

Why the tempting wrong answer fails

The tempting wrong answer usually loses because it skips the key condition, priority, or evidence in the prompt.

Plain-language takeaway

Indefinite pronouns such as neither, each, and either are singular and take a singular verb. The verb agrees with neither, not with the plural noun in the prepositional phrase.

Simple analogy

Think of grammar and usage like following a short checklist: identify the clue, confirm the rule, and then make the move that fits this exact scenario.

How to review it before a retake

  • Underline the command word and name what the question is asking before rereading the choices.
  • Compare the correct answer against the closest distractor and write the exact detail that separates them.
  • Retest this objective with a fresh question without looking at the rationale first.

Sources to verify next