Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The fact that dissenting opinions are stifled (1)/ without due institutional safeguards (2)/ reflect a worrying trend in democratic regression (3)/ observed across multiple levels of governance. (4)

Correct — C. The subject is The fact, a singular noun. The clause that dissenting opinions are stifled without due institutional safeguards only says what the fact is.

So the main verb must be singular: reflects, not reflect. The plurals opinions and safeguards sit nearer the verb, but neither is its subject.

The fault is in part (3) → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  (1) — dissenting opinions are stifled is correct inside the that-clause: the plural opinions takes the plural are. That verb belongs to the clause, not to the fact.
• (b)
  (2) — without due institutional safeguards is sound. Due means proper or required here, and the phrase says how the opinions are stifled. It holds no verb that could go wrong.
• (d)
  (4) — observed across multiple levels of governance is a correct participle phrase. Observed here means seen, it describes the trend just named, and the phrase needs no verb of its own.

A noun followed by a that-clause (the fact that..., the perception that..., the belief that...) is one singular subject. The clause says what the fact is; it does not make the subject plural.

To find the main verb, skip the clause: The fact ... reflects a worrying trend.

The clause keeps its own agreement inside it: opinions are stifled.

Key facts

• The fact that + clause is a singular subject and takes a singular verb.
• A present-simple verb takes -s after a singular third-person subject: it reflects, they reflect.
• A clause inside the subject has its own verb, which agrees with its own subject: opinions are stifled.

Common traps

• Matching reflect to safeguards, the last noun before it
• Assuming a long subject full of plurals must take a plural verb

No directly related past PYQ was found.