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Question

Difficulty: MediumShifts in Construction

Read the passage below. Which form of the verb in parentheses should be written in the blank to avoid an inconsistent shift in verb tense and maintain grammatical consistency throughout the passage?

Answer:As the archeologists carefully excavated the tomb, they discovered several clay jars. While one researcher cataloged the artifacts, another (examine) 【examined】 the faint inscriptions on the tomb walls.

Answer

examined
The past tense form 'examined' is correct because it maintains consistency with the other past tense verbs in the passage ('excavated', 'discovered', and 'cataloged').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the tense of the verbs used in the surrounding clauses of the passage.
The verbs 'excavated', 'discovered', and 'cataloged' are all in the simple past tense.
This establishes that the narrative events occurred in the past.
2
Apply the past tense to the verb in parentheses to maintain consistency.
Conjugating 'examine' to the simple past tense yields 'examined'.
Using the past tense avoids an inconsistent shift in verb tense and keeps the passage grammatically sound.

Key Concept

Verbs within a passage must remain consistent in tense unless a shift in the time of action is logically required by the context.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Shifts in Construction

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