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Difficulty: MediumVerb Tense and Consistency

The following paragraph is from a historical report about deep-sea exploration.

In January 1960, Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard and US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh boarded the bathyscaphe *Trieste* to attempt a descent to the deepest known point in the world’s oceans. During the historic 1960 expedition, the team of intrepid explorers, despite facing immense physical pressure, monitored the cabin instruments, recorded depth measurements, and observes the marine life outside the window. They eventually reached the ocean floor at nearly 11,000 meters, proving that life could exist in the absolute darkness of the abyss.

Which choice best maintains a consistent and grammatically correct verb tense throughout the paragraph?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. observedAnswer
  3. C
    observing
  4. D
    observe

Answer

observed
The past-tense verb 'observed' correctly maintains grammatical consistency with the other past-tense verbs in the series ('monitored' and 'recorded') and adheres to the established past-tense setting of the 1960 expedition.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the context and the verbs that establish the timeline of the paragraph.
The paragraph describes a historic expedition that occurred in 1960, utilizing past-tense verbs such as 'boarded,' 'monitored,' and 'recorded.'
This establishes that the events occurred in the past and that the paragraph should maintain a consistent past-tense narrative.
2
Analyze the grammatical structure of the sentence containing the underlined verb.
The sentence features a compound predicate list: 'monitored..., recorded..., and [underlined verb]...'
To maintain parallel structure, the final verb in the series must match the grammatical form of the preceding past-tense verbs ('monitored' and 'recorded').
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that is both past tense and parallel.
The past-tense verb 'observed' is the only choice that fits both the temporal context of the paragraph and the parallel structure of the list.
This maintains both verb tense consistency and proper parallel structure.

Key Concept

Verb Tense and Consistency
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Verb Tense and Consistency

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