English 2022 JAMB Past Questions - Question 31: The man .....as well as his sons in the band

Correct Answer

A

Explanation

The sentence is correct as: The man as well as his sons plays in the band. The rule of concord states that if two or more subjects are connect­ ed using a subordinating conjunc­ tion, the first subject is expectedly of higher status than others, and thus controls the verb of the sentence. In the given sentence, “The man” is the first subject, as well as is the subordinator used in linking the first sub­ject to the second subject “his sons”. Since the first subject is a singular one, the verb must then be a singu­lar verb. “Plays” is a present singular verb. Other examples: The man with his two sons was involved in the ac­cident