Really confused as what is the subject here.

--- what is much more difficult to determine is the reason for their decoration.

I would think the subject is the reason.

If subject is the clause "what is much more difficult to determine" then is the below sentence correct:

what is much more difficult to determine is the reasons for their decoration

Thanks.

nope.

in a sentence that has the construction "X is Y" -- if both X and Y are nouns/noun phrases/noun clauses -- the subject is X.
always.
therefore, the following two sentences are both correct:
the last three questions were the hardest part of the test.
the hardest part of the test was the last three questions.
in each of these constructions, the subject is before the verb.

the only time when you have a reverse construction (subject after verb) is when nothing in front of the verb is eligible to be the subject.
example:
on the table are two cell phones.
here, “on the table” cannot be a subject (prepositional phrases are not allowed to be subjects), so this sentence is forced to have a reverse construction.

--


you're also making another huge mistake here -- you are isolating the first part of a compound noun (i.e., a list connected with “and”). if you have a list of two or more things connected with “and”, you must consider that construction as though it were a single word.

so, the part after the verb isn't just "the reason for their decoration"; it's ALL of "the reason for their decoration, the use to which primitive people put the caves, and the meaning of the magnificently depicted animals". if that were the subject of the clause (which it isn't), then you would actually need a plural verb.




yes.

And even on here you go through an extensive explanation with examples, which is fabulous..but NO Definite end result. The answer is B, correct, Ron?

actually, knowing the letter of the correct answer is much, much less important than learning the rules and explanations behind those answers.




did you read the whole thread?
if you did, you should have seen this post
post31277.html#p31277
in which the poster cited the source and the OA of this problem.

please read the whole thread!




a question for you:

which do you think is more important:
(a) having a letter for the correct answer to this one problem -- a problem that you are never going to see again;
or
(b) understanding what's right and wrong about the constructions in the problem, so that, when you're presented with future problems that contain similar constructions, you'll be able to use that information to make correct choices?

for once, i'll come straight out and tell you the answer to this one; it's (b).