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Difficulty: MediumVerb Tense and Consistency

In December 1938, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, a museum curator in South Africa, received a phone call from a local trawler captain who had docked with an unusual catch. When she arrived at the docks, she immediately noticed a strange, blue fish among the pile of sharks. Recognizing its significance, she brought the specimen to the museum and writes a letter to chemist J.L.B. Smith to help identify it.

Which choice most effectively maintains a consistent verb tense in the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. wroteAnswer
  3. C
    writing
  4. D
    is writing

Answer

The option stating 'wrote' is the correct answer because it uses the simple past tense, which matches the other past-tense verbs in the passage and maintains a consistent timeline.
The correct option is 'wrote' because the passage is written in the past tense, describing historical events from 1938. The sentence contains a compound predicate where the first verb, 'brought', is in the past tense. To maintain tense consistency and parallel structure, the second verb must also be in the past tense ('wrote').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the surrounding context to determine the primary narrative tense.
The passage uses past-tense verbs such as 'received', 'arrived', and 'noticed', establishing that the events occurred in the past.
The correct verb form must maintain consistency with this established past-tense timeline.
2
Examine the sentence structure containing the underlined verb.
The sentence features a compound predicate: 'she brought the specimen... and [writes] a letter...'.
Both verbs in a compound predicate sharing the same subject ('she') must be in parallel grammatical forms and consistent tenses.
3
Identify the option that maintains past-tense consistency and parallel structure.
The simple past tense verb 'wrote' matches the past-tense verb 'brought' and fits the narrative timeline.
This selection avoids inappropriate tense shifts and maintains parallel predicate structure.

Key Concept

Maintaining consistent verb tense and parallel structure in compound predicates within a past-tense narrative.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Verb Tense and Consistency

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