Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
For my grandmother, two kilometres ______ too long a walk to the vegetable market now.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → is
Subject-verb agreement with a distance:
- A distance thought of as one whole takes a singular verb.
- “Two kilometres” is one distance here, not two separate kilometres. “Now” shows the present. So the verb is is.
- Complete sentence: For my grandmother, two kilometres is too long a walk to the vegetable market now.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: are — Incorrect. “Are” is plural, but a distance taken as one whole is singular. Example: The two markets in our town are far apart.
Option 2: were — Incorrect. “Were” is plural, but the subject is singular. Example: The roads were muddy after the rain.
Option 4: was — Incorrect. “Was” is singular, but it shows the past. The sentence is about now (“now”). Example: Two kilometres was an easy walk for her when she was young.