ritula wrote:
The governor’s team of advisors, including her education and political strategists, has not been available for comment since the governor released her controversial education reform proposal.
(A) has not been available for comment since the governor released her controversial education reform proposal
(B) have not been available for comment since the governor released her controversial education reform proposal
(C) have not been available for comment since she released her proposal on controversial education reform
(D) has not been available for comment since she released her controversial education reform proposal
(E) has not been available to make comments since she released her proposal on controversial reform in education
Official Explanation:The singular subject in the original sentence, “the governor’s team,” agrees with the singular verb phrase “has not been.”
(A) CORRECT. This choice is correct as it repeats the original sentence.
(B) The subject-verb relationship is incorrect. The singular subject of the sentence, “the governor’s team,” does not agree with the plural verb phrase “have not been.”
(C) The subject-verb relationship is incorrect. The singular subject of the sentence, “the governor’s team,” does not agree with the plural verb phrase “have not been.” Also, the subject pronoun “she” has no antecedent. The subject pronoun “she” cannot refer back to the possessive noun, “governor’s.” Only possessive pronouns, such as “her,” can refer to possessive nouns. Finally, the phrase “her proposal on controversial education reform” changes the original meaning. This phrasing implies that the education reform is controversial. However, it is clear in the original sentence that it is the governor’s proposal that is controversial, not education reform itself.
(D) The subject pronoun “she” has no antecedent. The subject pronoun “she” cannot refer back to the possessive noun, “governor’s.” Only possessive pronouns, such as “her,” can refer to possessive nouns.
(E) The subject pronoun “she” has no antecedent. The subject pronoun “she” cannot refer back to the possessive noun, “governor’s.” Only possessive pronouns, such as “her,” can refer to possessive nouns. Also, the phrase “her proposal on controversial reform in education” changes the original meaning. This phrasing implies that the education reform is controversial. However, it is clear in the original sentence that it is the governor’s proposal that is controversial, not education reform itself. Finally, the phrase "to make comments" is not as concise as the original "for comment."
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