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Identify the decisive rule and the specific flaw in its nearest competitor. Complete the four written drills in the lesson before this practice set. Question numbers follow the shuffled order; Guide question labels match the lesson references.
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The drill
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Question 5
Guide question 3.05
Transfer
The exhibition pairs detailed drawings with simplified versions of the same scenes. The enlarged image of a city block, which includes every doorway and window, ______ several patterns that are difficult to notice in the smaller drawings.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
The main subject is singular image, and the main clause needs a finite verb after the closing comma. Includes belongs to the relative clause beginning with which; it does not finish the main clause. Reveals supplies a finite present-tense predicate: The enlarged image reveals several patterns.
B:Revealing is nonfinite without an auxiliary here and leaves the main clause without a finite predicate.
C:To reveal is an infinitive; it cannot independently serve as this clause's main finite predicate.
D:Having revealed is a nonfinite perfect participial phrase. No finite main verb remains for image.
If you missed it: Find the opening and closing boundaries of the relative clause, then read the main subject directly with the answer.
The laboratory compares several designs for a small water filter. The sequence of changes that the engineers made after the first prototype failed ______ how they adapted the device to trap finer particles without blocking the flow of water.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Distinguish a matrix verb from embedded verbs | Review lesson 3.1
Correct choice: demonstrates
The main subject is The sequence of changes..., headed by singular sequence. Made belongs to the relative clause about the engineers, and failed belongs to its after clause. Neither can serve as the main verb. Finite demonstrates completes the core The sequence demonstrates how they adapted the device.
A:Demonstrating adds a nonfinite form where the main clause needs a finite predicate.
B:To demonstrate can express purpose, but it does not supply the missing finite main verb.
D:Having demonstrated is nonfinite despite containing two verb forms. The finite verbs elsewhere belong to embedded clauses.
If you missed it: Identify which subject belongs to each existing finite verb. Do not assume that a sentence containing several finite verbs has completed every clause.
The survey team keeps a separate file for each neighborhood in the district. Its notes on the use of the recently renovated public square ______ the activities that residents reported during interviews conducted at different times of the day.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Ignore a singular noun between a plural subject and verb | Review lesson 3.2
Correct choice: describe
The subject head is plural notes. The phrases on the use and of the recently renovated public square describe those notes but do not control the verb. Present-tense describe agrees with notes. The reduced clause is Its notes describe the activities.
A:Describes is singular. It incorrectly follows the number of a nearby noun such as use or square.
B: The finite auxiliary has is singular; plural notes would require have.
C: The finite auxiliary is is singular; plural notes would require are in this progressive construction.
If you missed it: Reduce a long subject to its head noun before checking the first word of a compound verb phrase.
The anthology gives different amounts of space to different contributors. One of the poems in the final group, whose authors are introduced in the preceding section, ______ an entire page because its lines are arranged in a wide circular pattern.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
The main subject is One of the poems..., headed by singular One. The relative clause about the authors contains its own plural predicate, are introduced. It does not change the number of the main subject. The main clause must read One ... occupies an entire page.
A:Occupy is plural in this present-tense statement; singular One requires occupies.
C:Have does not agree with third-person singular One. The nearby plural nouns do not control this auxiliary.
D:Are incorrectly treats the main subject as plural. The embedded plural subject authors controls only its own verb.
If you missed it: Keep one of distinct from the plural group it selects from. Mark the main and relative-clause agreement pairs separately.
The editor has resolved most of the questions about the revised catalog. There ______ two labels near the entrance that still need to be checked against the descriptions in the museum's inventory.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Use the following noun phrase after there | Review lesson 3.3
Correct choice: remain
Existential There introduces the remaining items. The noun phrase after the blank is plural two labels, so the verb takes plural agreement: There remain two labels. The later relative clause that still need to bechecked... also correctly uses plural agreement with labels.
A:Remains is singular and does not agree with two labels.
C:Has is singular. A present-perfect phrase with the plural noun phrase would begin with have.
D:Is is singular. The plural noun phrase requires a plural finite form in this construction.
If you missed it: For formal existential there sentences, continue past the blank to determine the number of the following noun phrase.
The catalog follows the order in which visitors encounter the sculptures. At the end of the entries for the smaller rooms ______ a list of works that have been moved to the courtyard for the summer exhibition.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Find a singular postverbal head inside a long noun phrase | Review lesson 3.3
Correct choice: appears
The opening At the end of the entries for the smaller rooms states a location in the catalog. The main subject follows the blank: a list of works..., headed by singular list. Mentally rearrange to A list of worksappears at the end. Plural works controls only have been moved in the relative clause.
B:Appear is plural, but the main subject head is singular list.
C:Have incorrectly treats the main subject as plural. Neither entries, rooms, nor works is that subject head.
D:Are has the same number error. The subject is a list, not the works contained in it.
If you missed it: After restoring ordinary order, reduce the postverbal noun phrase to its head. Inversion and intervening nouns can occur together.
The installation combines several kinds of material, but each component has a specific role. The transparent outer shell, together with the narrow supports that hold the colored panels in place, ______ essential to the stability of the finished structure.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Separate an additive phrase from the subject | Review lesson 3.4
Correct choice: is
The main subject head is singular shell. The phrase together with the narrow supports... adds information; it does not join a second subject with and. Its relative clause has its own plural verb hold. Main-clause agreement therefore remains singular: The transparent outer shell is essential.
A:Are incorrectly treats the shell and supports as a compound subject. Together with introduces an additive phrase here.
B: The finite auxiliary have is plural; the main subject shell requires singular agreement.
D:Were is plural in this ordinary statement and cannot agree with singular shell.
If you missed it: Locate the actual connector. Distinguish and between subjects from together with inside a description.
The visitor is trying to identify the materials used in a sculpture. Neither the label beside the work nor the description in the printed catalog ______ the name of the stone from which its base was carved.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Agree with singular alternatives joined by nor | Review lesson 3.4
Correct choice: contains
The alternatives joined by neither...nor are singular label and singular description. In this construction the predicate takes singular agreement: Neither the label nor the description contains the name. The prepositional phrases locate the two sources but do not change their number.
A:Contain is plural in this present-tense statement. Both alternatives are singular.
B: The finite auxiliary have is plural; this pair of singular alternatives requires singular agreement.
C: The finite auxiliary are is plural. Joining singular alternatives with nor does not work like joining two distinct subjects with and.
If you missed it: Identify the number of each alternative and the conjunction joining them before selecting the verb.
A greenhouse class is testing ways to protect young plants from insects. A number of the newly germinated seedlings ______ protected by mesh covers that allow light and water to pass through while keeping larger insects away from the leaves.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Distinguish a number of from the number of | Review lesson 3.5
Correct choice: are
A number of the newly germinated seedlings means several of those seedlings. This expression takes plural agreement, so are protected is correct. It differs from The number of seedlings, which would refer to a single count and take singular agreement.
B:Is is singular. It would fit some constructions about one count, but a number of seedlings refers to several seedlings.
C:Was is singular in this ordinary statement and does not agree with the plural expression.
D: The finite auxiliary has is singular. A present-perfect passive phrase with this subject would begin have been.
If you missed it: Paraphrase a number of as several and the number of as the count of before checking agreement.
The storage room contains cabinets of several sizes, but the conservation staff cannot use all of their capacity. Nearly two thirds of the available space in the cabinets nearest the outer walls ______ empty because those cabinets are being inspected for moisture.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Let the quantified noun govern a fractional expression | Review lesson 3.5
Correct choice: remains
The fraction Nearly two thirds quantifies singular mass noun space, not plural cabinets. The subject refers to an amount of space, so it takes singular agreement: Nearly two thirds of the available spaceremains empty. The later clause correctly uses plural agreement for its different subject, those cabinets.
A:Remain is plural here. The fractional expression quantifies singular space.
B: The finite auxiliary have is plural. A perfect phrase agreeing with the quantified amount of space would begin has.
C: The finite auxiliary are incorrectly follows the number of cabinets, which occurs inside a phrase describing the space.
If you missed it: For a fraction or percentage, identify what is being measured before applying agreement. Keep later location phrases outside that decision.
The expedition's surviving logs describe a single season of fieldwork. During the six-week survey that ended in August 1976, the researchers ______ the positions of more than forty abandoned buildings. They returned to the city that September.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Use a finished past period rather than present perfect | Review lesson 3.6
Correct choice: recorded
The recording occurred during a particular survey that ended in August 1976. The following sentence confirms the completed historical sequence. Simple past recorded supplies a finite predicate in that finished period. The answer follows the explicit time frame, not a blanket requirement that all verbs always share a tense.
A: Present perfect have recorded does not fit this recording event's explicit location in a finished six-week period in 1976.
C:Will record places the action in the future relative to the present, contradicting its location in the completed historical survey.
D:Recording lacks a finite auxiliary and leaves the researchers without a complete predicate.
If you missed it: Underline the phrase that dates the blank's event; reject present perfect when that event is located wholly in a finished past period.
When the first inventory was completed in 1998, the objects from the northern storeroom were listed separately from the rest. Today, the entries for those objects, which the curators have recently revised, ______ part of the same searchable catalog as every other entry.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Allow a justified past-to-present shift | Review lesson 3.6
Correct choice: are
The first sentence describes a completed condition in 1998; the second turns to the catalog today. Its subject head is plural entries, and its main clause needs a finite predicate. Choice C supplies are, which agrees with entries and expresses a present condition. The shift from were listed to are part is justified; nothing requires every clause to use the earlier sentence's tense.
A:Is is present tense but singular. The subject head is plural entries.
B:Was is singular and cannot agree with plural entries. A past-tense form cannot be accepted merely because the first sentence is about 1998.
D:Being is nonfinite without an auxiliary here. The verb have revised belongs to the relative clause, so it cannot provide the main clause with its missing finite predicate.
If you missed it: Check agreement and time separately. A correct number does not rescue an unjustified tense, and a justified tense shift is not inconsistency.
The old reading room reopened in 2019 after a lengthy restoration. By the time the first visitors entered that spring, the volunteers ______ all of the damaged ceiling panels, so none of the repair equipment remained in the room.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Place a completed event before a stated past reference point | Review lesson 3.7
Correct choice: had already restored
The reference point is the first visitors' entry in spring 2019. The restoration of all panels was already complete before that past event. Past perfect had already restored correctly marks the earlier completion and provides a finite predicate for volunteers. No simple-past alternative is offered; this item does not establish a rule that simple past can never express an earlier past event.
A: Present perfect have already restored connects its reference point to the present, but this clause explicitly evaluates completion by an event in spring 2019.
B:Will already restore places the restoration in the future relative to the present, conflicting with its completion before the 2019 reopening.
C:Having already restored is nonfinite. It does not complete the clause whose subject is the volunteers.
If you missed it: Name the reference time before choosing a perfect form. Check that the clause also contains a finite verb; do not invent a ban on unoffered valid alternatives.
The maintenance log records an interruption during yesterday's equipment check. At 8:15 a.m., the technician was ______ the sensor beside the main doorway when a brief power failure shut down the control panel and ended the test.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Complete a past-progressive auxiliary chain | Review lesson 3.7
Correct choice: adjusting
The existing auxiliary was introduces an action in progress when the power failed. The progressive needs an -ing participle: was adjusting the sensor. The technician performs the adjustment, and thesensor is its direct object. That structure also rules out a passive reading.
B:Was adjusted the sensor is not grammatical. Passive was adjusted would make the technician receive the action and cannot take the sensor as this direct object.
C: The finite present form adjusts cannot follow auxiliary was in this verb phrase.
D:Was been adjusting is not a grammatical auxiliary chain. A past progressive uses was adjusting; a past-perfect progressive would use had been adjusting.
If you missed it: Read the auxiliary before the blank and the object after it. Then verify that the completed phrase expresses the activity the surrounding event interrupts.
The workshop offers several possible designs for a small footbridge. The participants who are building the final model have ______ a design with two short spans because they can assemble its sections separately and then join them above the channel.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Use the irregular participle after perfect have | Review lesson 3.8
Correct choice: chosen
The existing finite auxiliary have agrees with plural participants and requires a past participle for this perfect phrase. The forms are choose (base), chose (simple past), and chosen (past participle). Therefore, have chosen is correct. The relative clause who are building... does not change that requirement.
A:Choose is the base form, not the past participle required after perfect have.
B:Have choosing is not a complete perfect or progressive chain. A perfect progressive would require have been choosing.
D:Chose is simple past. The irregular past participle required here is chosen.
If you missed it: When the auxiliary is already supplied, choose the form it requires. Memorize useful irregular verbs as base, past, and participle.
The archive is preparing to publish the correspondence of a local theater company. The collection of letters that the editors selected from the company's earliest seasons ______ to a specialist by the archive's director for a final check of the transcriptions.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Why this answer
Satisfy finiteness, agreement, and passive formation together | Review lesson 3.8
Correct choice: has been sent
The main subject head is singular collection. Selected belongs to the embedded relative clause and cannot be the main verb. The collection receives the action, and the director performs it, so the present-perfect passive chain has been sent is appropriate. It supplies a finite singular auxiliary and the participle sent.
A:Have fails agreement with singular collection. The nearby plural nouns belong to descriptions or the embedded clause.
C:Having been sent is nonfinite. It leaves the main clause without a finite predicate despite the finite verb selected in the relative clause.
D: Passive been requires the past participle sent, not the base form send.
If you missed it: Use a fixed audit: main clause complete; subject and finite auxiliary agree; auxiliary chain correctly formed; voice and time fit the sentence.