Fill in the blank with the suitable form of the verb: The growing number of visitors _____ the footpaths
A
are damaging
B
damaging
C
were damaging
D
damages
Correct Option:
D
Explanation
The grammatical subject is number, not visitors. In the expression “the growing number of visitors,” “number” is singular, so it takes the singular verb damages. Compare this with “a number of visitors are…,” where the meaning is plural.
