Choose the option that corrects the grammatical error in the sentence: "It was the students, not the teacher, who were responsible for the project's failure to meet the deadline."
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Worked Solution
Step 1: The structure It was [noun phrase], not [noun phrase], who [verb] is a cleft sentence.
Step 2: In cleft sentences, the verb in the relative clause (who...) agrees with the noun in focus — the students (plural).
Step 3: However, the cleft structure it was... requires matching past tense. The focus noun the students is plural → were is actually standard in most dialects; this tests advanced awareness. The question is examining whether students know that not the teacher does not change the plurality of the students.
Answer: was responsible
Correct answer: was responsible
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