Several of the canvases that were singed

[enriqoc]

Source: Powerscore (Not listed as banned)
Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire were painted by a famous Russian artist.

A) Same
B) In yesterday's museum fire, several of the canvases that had been singed and incinerated were
C) Yesterday several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in the museum fire were
D) Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been
E) Several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been

I choose A because plural verb is needed for "several of the canvases". Doesn't the rule for SANAM pronouns apply to several as well....

OA: E

[RonPurewal]

Source: Powerscore (Not listed as banned)
Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire were painted by a famous Russian artist.

A) Same
B) In yesterday's museum fire, several of the canvases that had been singed and incinerated were
C) Yesterday several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in the museum fire were
D) Several of the canvases that were singed and incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been
E) Several of the canvases that were singed or incinerated in yesterday's museum fire had been

I choose A because plural verb is needed for "several of the canvases". Doesn't the rule for SANAM pronouns apply to several as well....

OA: E

wow. this question is an EXACT rip-off of #37 in the purple OG verbal supplement (the problem about earthquakes destroying buildings).

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singular/plural is not an issue here, since "had been" can be either singular or plural.
ALL past-tense verbs can be EITHER singular OR plural.
the ONLY exception is "was"/"were".

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