Question

proofread the following text and correct the three subject-verb disagreements.

allegedly recovered from the legendary king solomons mines, the uncut, rough stone was acquired in 1544 by the scandalous de luca family. gifted as part of a dowry in 1612, the fate of the diamond, along with several other high profile gems, were unknown after the franco-spanish war of 1635, before it mysteriously reappeared over three centuries later.

sold last year to the moretti brothers jewellers for just over £22 million, neither time nor conflict have dimmed its brilliance. indeed, the twin eighty-year-old brothers suggests that the value of the now cut and polished 90 carat diamond has already increased by at least 50%. it will be on display for four weeks only.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Subject-Verb Agreement
Matching singular subjects with singular verbs, and plural with plural.

Step 1: Analyze the first paragraph

Let's look at the first sentence:

"Allegedly recovered from the legendary King Solomon's Mines, the uncut, rough stone was acquired in 1544 by the scandalous De Luca family."

• Subject: "the uncut, rough stone" (singular)
• Verb: "was acquired" (singular)
• Agreement is correct.

Let's look at the second sentence:

"Gifted as part of a dowry in 1612, the fate of the diamond, along with several other high profile gems, were unknown after the Franco-Spanish war of 1635, before it mysteriously reappeared over three centuries later."

• Subject: "the fate" (singular). The phrase "along with several other high profile gems" is a prepositional modifier and does not change the singular subject.
• Verb: "were" (plural)
• Correction: Change "were" to "was" to agree with the singular subject "fate".

Step 2: Analyze the first sentence of the second paragraph

Let's look at this sentence:

"Sold last year to the Moretti Brothers jewellers for just over £22 million, neither time nor conflict have dimmed its brilliance."

• Subject: "neither time nor conflict". When singular subjects are joined by "neither... nor", the verb must agree with the closer subject ("conflict", which is singular).
• Verb: "have dimmed" (plural)
• Correction: Change "have dimmed" to "has dimmed" to agree with the singular subject "conflict".

Step 3: Analyze the remaining sentences

Let's look at the next sentence:

"Indeed, the twin eighty-year-old brothers suggests that the value of the now cut and polished 90 carat diamond has already increased by at least 50%."

• Subject: "the twin eighty-year-old brothers" (plural)
• Verb: "suggests" (singular)
• Correction: Change "suggests" to "suggest" to agree with the plural subject "brothers".

Let's check the final sentence:

"It will be on display for four weeks only."

• Subject: "It" (singular)
• Verb: "will be" (modal verb, correct)
• Agreement is correct.

Answer:

Here is the corrected text with the three subject-verb disagreements resolved:

Allegedly recovered from the legendary King Solomon’s Mines, the uncut, rough stone was acquired in 1544 by the scandalous De Luca family. Gifted as part of a dowry in 1612, the fate of the diamond, along with several other high profile gems, was unknown after the Franco-Spanish war of 1635, before it mysteriously reappeared over three centuries later.

Sold last year to the Moretti Brothers jewellers for just over £22 million, neither time nor conflict has dimmed its brilliance. Indeed, the twin eighty-year-old brothers suggest that the value of the now cut and polished 90 carat diamond has already increased by at least 50%. It will be on display for four weeks only.