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Difficulty: HardShifts in Construction

In the seventeenth century, the Dutch tulip market experienced an unprecedented boom. Wealthy investors and ordinary citizens alike traded rare bulbs for exorbitant prices, hoping to secure fortunes overnight. They speculated on future harvests, pledged their estates as collateral, and are creating one of history's first recorded financial bubbles. Ultimately, the market collapsed in 1637, leaving many families in financial ruin.

Which of the following choices for the underlined portion best maintains a consistent verb tense and parallel structure in the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. createdAnswer
  3. C
    create
  4. D
    having created

Answer

The correct answer is the option that uses the simple past tense verb 'created' to maintain consistency with the other past tense verbs in the series.
The correct choice uses the simple past tense verb 'created' to match the verbs 'speculated' and 'pledged'. This maintains parallel structure in the list of actions and avoids an unnecessary shift in verb tense.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the parallel elements in the list within the third sentence.
The sentence lists three actions performed by the subjects: (1) 'speculated on future harvests', (2) 'pledged their estates as collateral', and (3) the underlined portion.
Identifying parallel structures is necessary to ensure consistent grammatical construction across all items in a series.
2
Determine the tense of the verbs that are already established in the series.
The verbs 'speculated' and 'pledged' are both in the simple past tense.
To maintain parallel structure and prevent illogical construction shifts, the final verb in the series must match the simple past tense of the preceding verbs.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the verb form that maintains consistency and parallel structure.
The simple past tense verb 'created' matches 'speculated' and 'pledged', resolving the grammatical shift.
Choosing the past tense verb completes the parallel list in a grammatically consistent manner.

Key Concept

Shifts in Construction (Verb Tense Consistency and Parallelism)
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Topics

Shifts in Construction

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