Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
Of all the sports taught at our school, gymnastics ______ the one that needs the most practice every day.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → is
Subject-verb agreement with nouns that end in -s but are singular:
- Some nouns end in -s but name one thing, such as “news”, “mathematics” and “gymnastics”. They take a singular verb.
- The subject is “gymnastics”, not “sports”. “Every day” and “needs” show the present. So the verb is is.
- Complete sentence: Of all the sports taught at our school, gymnastics is the one that needs the most practice every day.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: are — Incorrect. “Are” is plural, but “gymnastics” is singular. Example: The races are held in the morning.
Option 2: were — Incorrect. “Were” is plural, but the subject is singular. Example: The prizes were given out last week.
Option 3: was — Incorrect. “Was” is singular, but it shows the past. The sentence is about now (“every day”). Example: Gymnastics was not taught at our school ten years ago.