If James fails his examination, his teachers, his parents, his friends, or I … to be blame.

Analyze the question

This tests subject-verb agreement with "or" (a correlative/disjunctive conjunction). The subject is a list joined by "or": his teachers, his parents, his friends, or I.

Explain the concept

When subjects are joined by or / nor / either...or / neither...nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it (the "proximity rule"). This differs from "and", which makes a plural subject.

Show the solution

1. The subjects are: his teachers, his parents, his friends, or I.
2. The subject nearest the gap is "I".
3. The verb that agrees with "I" is "am".
4. Check the sentence: "...or I am to blame." ✔

Why not the others?

• A. are: would agree with "friends", but "friends" is not the closest subject.
• B. is: does not go with "I" or a plural subject.
• D. not: does not complete the sentence grammatically.

(Note: the phrase "to be blame" in the question is a typo for "to blame", but this does not change the answer.)

Answer: The correct option is C. am.

Exam tip

With "or / nor", ignore everything except the last subject, the one closest to the verb. Remember: "Or/Nor: look next door." Also, you can often test it by dropping the earlier subjects: "...or I am to blame" sounds right.