It is sad that the rich … pity the poor

Analyze the question: The sentence is "It is sad that the rich ............... pity the poor." We need the word that completes it correctly. The sad point is that the rich show no pity, so the sentence must be negative.

Explain the concept: Two things matter here.

1. Subject-verb agreement: "The rich" is a collective plural noun phrase (the adjective "rich" used as a noun meaning "rich people"). It takes a plural verb, so "doesn't" (singular) is wrong.
2. Meaning and tense: "It is sad that..." is in the present tense, so "did" (past) doesn't fit. The sentence is also sad only if the rich do not pity the poor.

Step-by-step solution:

• A. doesn't: singular, so it disagrees with the plural "the rich". ✗
• B. don't: plural and negative, so it agrees with "the rich" and gives the right meaning: "It is sad that the rich don't pity the poor." ✓
• C. do: grammatically correct, but it makes the sentence say the rich pity the poor, which is not sad. The meaning doesn't fit. ✗
• D. did: past tense, which clashes with "is sad", and it has no negative. ✗

Answer: The correct option is B. don't.

Tip: Phrases like the rich, the poor, the young, the old, the blind are plural, so use plural verbs: "The poor are suffering." Also check the meaning of the whole sentence. When it starts with "It is sad that...", a negative idea usually follows.