Multiple choice

Directions: This question presents a sentence, all or part of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

Neither of the three sisters was prepared to accept the blame.

  1. Neither of the three sisters was prepared to accept the blame.

  2. Neither of the three sisters were prepared to accept the blame.

  3. No one of the three sisters were prepared to accept the blame.

  4. No one of the three sisters was prepared to accept the blame.

  5. None of the three sisters was prepared to accept the blame.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Explanation for (1): The number of sisters is three. So, 'neither' is inappropriate.

Explanation for (2): The number of sisters is three. So, 'neither' is inappropriate.

Explanation for (3): 'No one' is inappropriate here because it means 'nobody' as a stand-alone, not as part of a group.
Explanation for (4): 'No one' is inappropriate here because it means 'nobody' as a stand-alone, not as part of a group. Justification for (5): The number of sisters is three. So, 'neither' is inappropriate. This option corrects the error by replacing 'neither' with 'none'.

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