Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable verb.

A large number of countries _____ members of the United Nations.

• A. is
• B. are
• C. am
• D. has

Answer 1

The correct option is B are

In the sentence, "A large number of countries" is the subject as it performs an action, a verb form of 'to be' (is, are). When the subject is plural, a plural verb is used, and when the subject is singular, a singular verb is used. This agreement between the subject and the verb is called the subject-verb agreement. Singular verbs usually end with an s, whereas plural verbs do not end with an s, for example, in 'This country looks beautiful' 'This country' is singular, and the verb is singular, it ends with an 's'. The subject given is plural (countries is the head subject) hence a plural verb will be used. 'Are' is the plural form of the verb 'to be' in the third person plural point of view, hence option B is correct, and 'is' is singular, hence option A is incorrect. 'Am' is a singular verb used in first person singular point of view, when a person refers to himself/herself. Since the countries cannot refer to themselves and it's not singular, option C is incorrect. 'Has' is used when the sentence is in the third person singular point of view, and means 'to possess or to experience', the 'countries' can't possess or experience 'members', unless the form 'have been' is used. Also the subject is not singular, so option D is incorrect.