9. What change needs to be made to sentence 11 (reproduced below) to make the sentence grammatically correct? Most New Yorkers have gotten used to the idea: a recent poll of New York City residents show that two-thirds of them support the bike lanes.
Answer: B
Change 'show' to 'shows'
In sentence 11, the verb "show" should be changed to "shows" to agree with the singular subject "a recent poll," which requires a singular verb form.
A) Change 'gotten' to 'got'
Changing 'gotten' to 'got' would not address the grammatical error in the sentence. The use of 'gotten' is acceptable in American English, and the issue lies with the verb agreement rather than the past participle form used.
B) Change 'show' to 'shows'
This option correctly identifies the grammatical mistake. Since the subject "a recent poll" is singular, the verb should also be singular; therefore, "show" must be changed to "shows" to ensure subject-verb agreement.
C) Change 'support' to 'supported'
Changing 'support' to 'supported' would alter the meaning of the sentence and is not necessary for grammatical correctness. The present tense "support" accurately reflects the ongoing sentiment of the poll respondents.
D) Change 'lanes' to 'lane'
Modifying 'lanes' to 'lane' is unnecessary and incorrect, as the sentence refers to multiple bike lanes. The plural form is appropriate in this context and does not contribute to the grammatical error present in the sentence.
Conclusion
The correct change to make sentence 11 grammatically correct is to alter "show" to "shows," ensuring that the singular subject "a recent poll" agrees with the verb. The other options either do not address the actual grammatical issue or would change the intended meaning of the sentence. Thus, option B is the only choice that resolves the error effectively.