NDA (I) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 25 of 150

Correct — D, 'No error.' 'As well as his servants' is an addition to the subject rather than a part of it, so the verb keeps agreeing with 'The owner' alone — a singular subject taking the singular verb 'is'.

• (a)The owner — This is correct, and it is the real subject of the sentence, which is why the verb is singular.
• (b)as well as his servants — This is correct; 'as well as' introduces an additional element without joining it to the subject in the way 'and' would.
• (c)is honest. — This is correct; the verb answers to 'The owner', so the singular form is the right one.

'As well as', 'along with', 'together with', 'in addition to', 'besides' and 'accompanied by' add information without changing the number of the subject, and the verb keeps agreeing with the original subject.

Had the sentence read 'The owner and his servants are honest', the plural verb would be right, because 'and' builds a compound subject. 'As well as' does not; it works like a parenthesis, and the sentence still makes its statement about the owner. Reading the sentence with the addition dropped — 'The owner … is honest' — is the quickest check available.

• 'The teacher, along with his students, was present' follows the same rule.
• 'And' creates a compound subject and takes a plural verb, whereas 'as well as' does not.
• With 'either … or' and 'neither … nor', the verb agrees with the nearer subject instead.

• Treating 'as well as' as though it were 'and'.
• Letting the nearest noun, 'servants', decide the form of the verb.

Asked as an error-spotting item — name the part of the sentence that carries the mistake, or mark 'No error.'

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the verb that fits — The captain, along with his players, ______ arrived.

  • (a)have
  • (b)has
  • (c)were
  • (d)are

  Answer(b) has — 'along with his players' does not change the singular subject.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which part carries the error — (a) Neither the students / (b) nor the teacher / (c) were present. / (d) No error

  • (a)Neither the students
  • (b)nor the teacher
  • (c)were present.
  • (d)No error

  Answer(c) were present. — with neither…nor the verb follows the nearer subject, so it should be 'was present'.