Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five richest

Question

Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five  richest families leaves his mansion and walks  to city hall.

A. richest families leaves his mansion and walks
B. richest families leave his mansion and walk
C. richest families leaves his mansion and walk
D. richer families leave his mansion and walks
E. richer families leaves his mansion and walks

The original sentence contains no errors. The superlative “richest” correctly describes
“families.” The verbs “leaves” and “walks” agree with the singular subject, “the
patriarch.”
(A) CORRECT. This choice is correct as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) This choice has a verb error; “leave” and “walk” are plural and do not agree with
the singular subject, “the patriarch.”
(C) This choice has a verb error; “walk” is plural and does not agree with the singular
subject, “the patriarch.”
(D) This choice has a verb error; “leave” is plural and does not agree with the singular
subject, “the patriarch.” Also, this choice incorrectly uses quantity
expressions. “Richer” is incorrect, as the comparative form is used when discussing
groups of two. “Richest” is correct for groups of three or more.
(E) This choice incorrectly uses quantity expressions. “Richer” is incorrect, as the
comparative form is used when discussing groups of two. “Richest” is correct for
groups of three or more.

sterling19 · Answer

The subject of the sentence is the patriarch, so the matching verbs are  leaves  and  walks .
As there are more than two families, we must use the superlative  richest .

The correct answer is  A .

321kumarsushant · Answer

Every workday at dawn,  the patriarch-{singular Subject}  of one of the city’s five  richest families leaves his mansion and walks  to city hall.

A. richest families leaves his mansion and walks - correct
B. richest families  leave  his mansion and  walk  - wrong
C. richest families leaves his mansion and  walk  - wrong
D.  richer  families  leave  his mansion and walks - comparative form used for comparison , wrong here. 
E.  richer  families leaves his mansion and walks - comparative form used for comparison , wrong here.

kamranko · Answer

Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five  richest families leaves his mansion and walks  to city hall.

A. richest families leaves his mansion and walks
B. richest families leave his mansion and walk
C. richest families leaves his mansion and walk
D. richer families leave his mansion and walks
E. richer families leaves his mansion and walks

the patriarch of..... is singular ===>needs a singular verb
walkS leaveS

richeST because the comparison is among the 5 families not between 2 of them

abhishek03050 · Answer

Thanks for the clear explanation.Makes sense

majuterus · Answer

There are three cases involve in this question :
1. Comparisons : We use superlative "richest" instead of "richer" to compare among five elements > eliminate D, E
2. S&V agreement : The patriarch is singular subject, it must be followed by singular verb such "leaves" > eliminate B
3. Parallelism : singular verb "leaves" must be parallel to another singular verb, hence "walks" is the correct one > eliminate C

So, A is the answer.

Note: sorry for my bad English. I'm very welcome for correction and input

LoneSurvivor · Answer

Patriarch is singular so leaves and Walks
And Superlative degree must be used  
 +1 A

Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five richest families leaves his mansion and walks to city hall.

A.  richest families leaves his mansion and walks 
B. richest families leave his mansion and walk
C. richest families leaves his mansion and walk
D. richer families leave his mansion and walks
E. richer families leaves his mansion and walks

SingaravelChocks · Answer

i was first going for b ... then only answer is A

becoz
2. S&V agreement : The patriarch is singular subject, it must be followed by singular verb such "leaves"

so eliminate B

huongguyen · Answer

Every workday at dawn,  the patriarch of one   of the city’s five richest families leaves his mansion and walks to city hall.

The patriarch = Singular => Verbs (Leaves - Walks)

VerbalBot · Answer

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Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five richest

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Every workday at dawn, the patriarch of one of the city’s five richest

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