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Difficulty: MediumParallel Structure

The sentence below describes the primary responsibilities of a marine biologist on a research vessel. Complete the sentence by writing the correct form of the verb 'record' in the blank to maintain parallel structure.

Answer:On a typical expedition, a marine biologist is responsible for collecting water samples, measuring ocean temperatures, and 【recording】 the migration patterns of local whale populations.

Answer

recording
The correct verb form is the gerund 'recording' because it matches the -ing participle structure of the preceding elements in the list ('collecting' and 'measuring'), which function as objects of the preposition 'for'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the items in the list of responsibilities within the sentence.
The list contains 'collecting water samples', 'measuring ocean temperatures', and the blank followed by 'the migration patterns...'.
To maintain parallel structure, all items in a list or series must share the same grammatical format.
2
Determine the grammatical form of the completed items in the list.
Both 'collecting' and 'measuring' are gerunds (verb forms ending in -ing that function as nouns).
This establishes the grammatical pattern that the third item in the list must follow.
3
Convert the base verb 'record' into the corresponding gerund form to complete the parallel structure.
The gerund form of 'record' is 'recording'.
Using 'recording' ensures that all three elements in the series are parallel gerund phrases.

Key Concept

Parallel structure requires that coordinate elements in a sentence (such as items in a list) match in grammatical form.
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Topics

Parallel Structure

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