Fill in the blank with the correct verb: My sister unlike my brothers __________ to have a career in Engineering.

Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of subject–verb agreement and the correct choice of verb to express desire or intention. The sentence reads: “My sister unlike my brothers __________ to have a career in Engineering.” You need to pick the verb that agrees with the singular subject “My sister” and conveys the intended meaning.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Subject: “My sister unlike my brothers” (the true subject is “my sister”).
• Contrast phrase: “unlike my brothers” simply shows a difference in preference.
• The sentence is about the wish or aspiration to have a career in Engineering.
• Options: “wants”, “want”, “wish”, “aspire”.

Concept / Approach:
The key concepts are subject–verb agreement and appropriate verb choice. The main subject is “my sister”, which is singular and third person, so the verb in the present simple tense must carry an -s ending (“wants”). The phrase “unlike my brothers” is only additional information and does not change the number of the subject. Next, the most natural way to talk about having a career is to say that someone “wants to have a career in …” rather than “wish to have” or “aspire to have” in this context.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Isolate the core subject and verb: “My sister ______ to have a career in Engineering.” Step 2: Because “my sister” is singular and we are talking about a present preference, the verb should be in the simple present tense with an -s ending: wants. Step 3: Consider the meaning. The sentence expresses a personal desire, and the idiomatic expression is “wants to have a career in Engineering”. Step 4: Option “want” without -s does not agree with the singular subject. Step 5: “wish” is usually used as “wishes to have” in the third person, but then the structure of the sentence changes, and it still sounds less natural than “wants”. Step 6: “aspire” would also need an -s (“aspires”) and usually takes “to” followed by a verb (“aspires to become an engineer”), which does not match the given pattern smoothly.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by creating similar sentences: “My brother wants to study medicine”, “Her friend wants to start a business”, “Their cousin wants to work abroad.” In each case, the structure “wants to + verb” expresses desire clearly. Replacing “wants” with “wish” or “aspire” would require changes to the rest of the sentence and would not be the simplest or most natural choice in this exam-style question.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
“want”: incorrect because it fails to agree with the singular subject “my sister”. “wish”: would also need to be “wishes” for agreement, and “wishes to have a career” is less common than “wants to have a career”. “aspire”: should be “aspires” and usually takes “to become” or “to be”, for example, “aspires to become an engineer”, so it does not fit neatly into the given sentence.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to let the noun nearest to the verb (“my brothers”) influence the choice of verb and to incorrectly use the plural form. Always identify the true subject first; phrases like “unlike my brothers”, “along with his friends”, or “together with his colleagues” do not change the number of the subject. Another pitfall is overcomplicating a simple sentence by choosing rare or formal verbs instead of the common, natural ones that examiners expect.

Final Answer:
The correct verb is wants, so the sentence reads “My sister unlike my brothers wants to have a career in Engineering.”