One of the muggers who snatched the hangbag … been arrested by the police.

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "One of the muggers who snatched the handbag _ been arrested by the police."

We need a word that fits with "been arrested," so the verb must be an auxiliary that forms a perfect tense (has/have been arrested).

Explain the concept: subject-verb agreement

When a sentence begins with "One of the + plural noun," the subject of the main verb is "One", not the plural noun. The phrase "of the muggers" only describes which one. The relative clause "who snatched the handbag" also describes the muggers, but it is not the subject of our blank.

• "One" is singular, so it takes a singular verb.
• The structure "_ been arrested" needs a form of "have": has been arrested (present perfect passive).

Step-by-step solution

1. Find the main subject: One (of the muggers). It is singular.
2. Find the verb phrase: "_ been arrested", which needs "has/have" before "been".
3. Match the singular subject with the singular auxiliary: has.
4. Check the other options: • A. have: plural, so it doesn't agree with "One". • B. was: "was been arrested" is ungrammatical, because "was" cannot be followed by "been". • C. is: "is been arrested" is also ungrammatical. • D. has: "has been arrested" is correct.

Answer: D. has

Full sentence: "One of the muggers who snatched the handbag has been arrested by the police."

Exam tip

Don't let the plural noun right after "of" fool you. With "One of the...", "Each of the...", "Either of the...", and "Neither of the...", the verb agrees with the first word, which is singular. Also remember that "been" always needs "has/have/had" before it, never "is" or "was".