Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner

Question

Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner conversation, but  the guests at the state department dinner did not seem to heed this longstanding advice, as they spent most of the night debating the U.S. response to a recent Vatican decision.

(A) Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner conversation, but
(B) Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner conversation;
(C) Neither religion nor politics is a particularly good choice for dinner conversation, but
(D) Religion and politics is neither a particularly good choice for dinner conversation, but
(E) Religion, along with politics, are not particularly good choices for dinner conversation, and

This is a  SC Butler Question

Check the links to other Butler Projects: 
 
   Data Sufficiency Butler 
   Problem Solving Butler  
   Critical Reasoning Butler  
   Reading Comprehension Butler  
   Integrated Reasoning Butler

cdrectenwald · Answer

C as the subjects, religion and politics are both singular

Posted from my mobile device

Ntaafuonua · Answer

It is a tricky one though. It took me couple of time to figure out "is" should be the correct SV- pair. 
It is likely some students may go with option "A" because the rule that in case of "Neither..... nor......." the verb corresponds to the nearest subject and in this case "politics" should be the subject. By then I think politics is a singular subject like "statistics, mathematics, and physics. Hence it always goes with singular verbs. 
Furthermore, the sentences may require "FANBOYS" to make it a complete thought hence ..., but make the sentence logical. 
Thus, +1 for option C

Bunuel · Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

In scanning the answer choices you should first notice the choice between the singular "is" and the plural "are". Subject-verb agreement choices tend to be easier to assess so you should always start with those decision points. When using the structure "neither/nor", the verb must agree with whichever noun is closest to the subject. In both (A) and (B) that noun is the singular "politics" so the use of "are" is incorrect. Note that "politics" is a good example of an unusual subject that might at first glance look plural but is most certainly singular: "Politics is my favorite topic to discuss" NOT "Politics are my favorite topic to discuss". In (D) the subject is the plural "Religion and politics" but that plural noun is improperly paired with the singular verb "is". In (E) the subject is the singular "Religion" (you should slash-and-burn the modifier "along with politics" following it) and that is incorrectly paired with the plural verb "are." Only (C) properly pairs "politics" with "is" and is thus the correct answer.

Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Sentence Correction (SC - EA only) Questions

Neither religion nor politics are particularly good choices for dinner

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards