Ten of William Shakespeare's plays are classified as histories. Although each one of these plays, which include Henry V and...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of these sentences. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentences as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• Sentence 1:
  • Ten of William Shakespeare's plays
  • are classified as histories.
• Sentence 2:
  • Although each one of these plays,
    • which include Henry V and Richard III,
  • [focuses/focus/are focused/were focused] on a single historical figure
    • (specifically, an English king),
  • some,
    • such as Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two,
  • feature different episodes from the same monarch's life.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

• The first sentence sets up the topic:
  • 'Ten of William Shakespeare's plays are classified as histories.'
    • So we're talking about a specific group of 10 plays that are called 'histories.'
• Now the second sentence tells us something about how these plays work:
  • 'Although each one of these plays, which include Henry V and Richard III...'
    • We're talking about these plays one at a time - considering them individually
    • We get examples: Henry V and Richard III are two of these history plays
• Now here's where we need to fill in the blank:
  • 'each one of these plays ______ on a single historical figure'

Let's look at our choices:

• Choice A: focuses (singular)
• Choice B: focus (plural)
• Choices C and D: are/were focused (plural, passive voice)

What do we need here?

• The key is identifying what the subject is:
  • The subject is 'each one of these plays'
    • But really, the core subject is just 'each one'
    • 'of these plays' is a descriptive phrase that comes after 'each one'
• 'Each one' is singular - it means we're considering these plays one at a time
  • Even though 'plays' is plural, that word isn't the subject
  • The word 'plays' appears in a phrase that describes 'each one'
• Also notice: 'which include Henry V and Richard III' sits between the subject and where the verb needs to go
  • This is extra information that interrupts the main flow
  • We need to mentally connect 'each one' directly to the verb

So we need focuses - a singular verb to match the singular subject 'each one.'

Now let's read the rest to see the complete picture:

• 'some, such as Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two, feature different episodes from the same monarch's life'
  • This presents an interesting contrast:
    • Yes, each individual play focuses on one king
    • BUT some plays take different parts of the SAME king's life and make separate plays about them
      • Like Henry VI Part One and Henry VI Part Two - both about King Henry VI, but covering different episodes from his reign

The complete meaning:

• Although each history play focuses on a single English king,
• Some kings have multiple plays about different parts of their lives

The correct answer is Choice A: focuses

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Subject-Verb Agreement with "Each" and Distracting Elements

The word "each" (and similar words like "every," "either," "neither") is always grammatically singular, even when it's followed by a phrase containing plural nouns. The verb must agree with "each," not with any plural nouns that appear in descriptive phrases.

This gets tricky when there are distracting elements between the subject and verb:

Pattern 1: "Each" + "of" phrase

• Each one of the students has a laptop
• Subject: "each one" (singular)
• Descriptive phrase: "of the students" (contains plural "students")
• Verb: "has" (singular, agrees with "each one")

Pattern 2: "Each" + "of" phrase + interrupting element + verb

• Each one of these plays, which include famous works, focuses on a king
• Subject: "each one" (singular)
• Descriptive phrase: "of these plays" (contains plural "plays")
• Interrupting clause: "which include famous works" (set off by commas)
• Verb: "focuses" (singular, agrees with "each one")

In our question:

• The subject is "each one" (singular)
• "of these plays" is a phrase that comes after and describes "each one"
• "which include Henry V and Richard III" interrupts between subject and verb
• The verb must be singular to match "each one": focuses

Key strategy: When you see "each," mentally cross out everything between it and the verb, then check if they agree. The word "each" always needs a singular verb!