Although some students may be innocent, ______are guilty of this offence.

Analyze the question

The sentence contrasts two groups of students: "some students may be innocent," but __ "are guilty." The blank needs a word that works with a plural noun (students) and a plural verb (are).

Explain the concept

Quantifiers must agree with the type of noun they refer to:

• much and a good deal (of) go with uncountable nouns (much water, a good deal of money).
• most works with plural countable nouns (most students) and also stands alone as a pronoun meaning "the majority."
• great deal is incomplete. It needs "a" before it and "of" after it ("a great deal of"), so it is wrong on its own.

Solution

Test each option:

• A. "Much are guilty": wrong. "Much" is singular and uncountable, and it does not take "are."
• B. "Great deal are guilty": wrong. It is ungrammatical, with no article and no "of."
• C. "Most are guilty": correct. "Most" refers to the students and takes the plural verb "are." It also contrasts well with "some."
• D. "A good deal are guilty": wrong. "A good deal" is used for quantities of uncountable things, and "a good deal of students" is not standard English.

Complete sentence: Although some students may be innocent, most are guilty of this offence.

Answer: C. most

Exam tip: When you see "are" or "were" after a blank referring to people, think plural. Eliminate "much" and "a good deal," which belong to uncountable nouns. Also watch for incomplete phrases like "great deal," which always need "a" and "of."