Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The report's emphasis on techno-optimism, while commendable, (1) / overlook…

Question

Find the part of the sentence that contains an error: The report's emphasis on techno-optimism, while commendable, (1) / overlook the structural inequities (2) / that persist in data accessibility and digital literacy (3) / across demographic and regional divides. (4)

1. A. (1)
2. B. (2) (Correct answer)
3. C. (3)
4. D. (4)

Correct Answer

Option B — (2)

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is part (2).

Key Points

• The subject of the sentence is "The report's emphasis" — the head noun is emphasis, which is singular.
• The verb in part (2) is overlook, a plural form; it must be overlooks to agree with the singular subject.
• The intervening phrase "on techno-optimism, while commendable," separates subject from verb and is what makes the error easy to miss.
• Strip out prepositional phrases and parenthetical asides, then read the subject and verb together: *emphasis … overlooks*.
• A possessive like *report's* is never the subject — the noun it modifies is, which is the point being tested here.

Additional Information

• Subject-verb agreement traps to watch: intervening prepositional phrases, collective nouns, *each/every/either/neither* (all singular), and *either…or / neither…nor*, where the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
• A possessive noun is never the subject; the noun it modifies is — "the report's emphasis … overlooks".
• Strip out parenthetical asides set off by commas, then read subject and verb together; the sentence's skeleton exposes the error.