A wide range of options … made available to students in their final year last year?

Analyze the question The sentence is: "A wide range of options ....... made available to students in their final year last year?" We need the correct verb form to fill the gap. Two things matter: subject-verb agreement and tense.

Explain the concept

1. Tense: "Last year" signals the simple past, so present forms (is, are) are out.
2. Agreement with collective phrases: In "a range of options," the head noun is range (singular). "Of options" is just a modifying phrase. This works like "a variety of," "a number of," and "a set of." • Compare: "A wide range of products was sold" (formal, strict agreement with "range"). • Note that "a number of" often takes a plural verb in informal usage, but "a range of" is conventionally treated as singular in examination grammar.

Step-by-step solution

• Subject: "A wide range" (singular head noun)
• Time marker: "last year" → past tense
• Passive construction: "was made available"

Eliminating the options:

• A. is: singular but present tense ✗
• B. were: past but plural. This would agree with "options," which is a distractor ✗
• C. are: plural and present ✗
• D. was: singular and past ✔

Answer "A wide range of options was made available to students in their final year last year."

Tip Ignore the phrase that follows "of" and find the true head noun. In "A range of options ...", the head is "range," not "options." Also, always check for time markers like "last year" before choosing the verb.