A recent poll of elected officials suggests that candidates, when in the midst of a tough campaign, often make statements about an opponent that they may not think is true.

A. is
B. are
C. to be
D. of as
E. it is

Guys need help to analyze the last clause... that they may not think is true. what is subject that or they? why there are two verbs.
I picked up C(not a verb) ..but its wrong...
please post your comments.
People who only want to post the ans option rather than full dissection please refrain . B'coz all of us know the ans no need to repeat it.
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HI Sujit,

A recent poll of elected officials suggests that candidates, when in the midst of a tough campaign, often make statements about an opponent that they may not think is true.

Since your question is specific, let us dissect this sentence to know analyze the structure:

Cl. 1: A recent poll of elected officials suggests

Cl. 2: that candidates, when in the midst of a tough campaign, often make statements about an opponent

Cl. 3: that

Cl. 4: they may not think

Cont. of Cl. 3: is true.

(blue = subjects, pink = verbs)

Let’s focus only on the structure of the sentence. For a minute assume that Clause 4 “they may not think” is not there. So the relevant portion of the sentence now is as follows:
Candidates,…, often make statements about an opponent that is true.

As you can see now in this sentence there should not be any confusion that “that” is the subject of the verb – is. And obviously “that” refers to the noun phrase “statements about an opponent”. Now let’s bring back clause 4 – they may not think. This clause adds contextually important information - what candidates may think or not think about those statements. But it by itself has SV pair. So this clause definitely adds contextually important information but structurally it fits right in.

The subject of Cl. 3 “that” stands for “statements”. Since “statements” is a plural subject, we need a plural verb for that. That is why choice B (are) is the correct answer.

Choice A leads to SV number agreement error and the other choices fail to make a clause with subject “that” that refers to “statements”.

I hope this helps resolve the confusion. If you still have doubts about this then think of it the following questions - what is “that” associated with; what “is true”.

You can refer to OG 12#118 question as well. Following is the sentence with correct answer choice C:

The world wildlife fund has declared that global warming, a phenomenon that most scientists agree is caused by human beings's burning of fossil fuels will create havoc among migratory birds by altering the enviroment in ways harmful to their habitats.

Thanks
Shraddha
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I went for option "B" using the singular rule of Subject Verb Agreement. Statements - Plural Subject, Are - Plural Verb.
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Abhi398

Only statements about opponents can be true or untrue. An opponent cannot be said to be true or not. What will be the meaning of a true opponent or an untrue opponent? The meaning doesn’t gel, does it
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Can anyone please explain how to rule out options C and D ?

Thanks,
Ankit
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You want something, go get it . Period !

So ideally, we're looking for a verb that follows "that" and hence, ARE fits in.

choice B makes sense now .

Thanks,
Ankit
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You want something, go get it . Period !

Hi Shradhha,
I have attached the official explanation which says C and D fit in but are awkward. . I fail to understand what can be termed awkward.

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