Form, Structure, and Sense Flashcards

The committee of senior advisors _______ expected to finalize its recommendations before the end of the fiscal year.

Answer: is

The subject 'committee' is singular and takes the singular verb 'is'; the prepositional phrase 'of senior advisors' does not affect agreement.

The marathon runners who completed the race _______ awarded commemorative medals and certificates of achievement.

Answer: were

The subject 'runners' is plural, so the plural past tense 'were' is correct.

Motivated by the community's positive response, _______ expanded the free tutoring program to three additional neighborhoods.

Answer: the organization

The participial phrase must be followed immediately by the subject performing the action; 'the organization' is motivated and expands the program.

The senator argued that a new infrastructure bill _______ the most effective way to stimulate economic growth in rural areas.

Answer: would be

After the past reporting verb 'argued,' the subordinate clause uses 'would be' to indicate a hypothesis about the future (sequence of tenses rule).

The company's mission is to develop sustainable products, reduce its carbon footprint, and _______ ethical labor practices throughout its supply chain.

Answer: promote

The mission statement uses infinitives: 'to develop,' 'to reduce,' 'to promote'; the bare infinitive 'promote' is correct for the third item in the series.

The governor announced that emergency relief funds _______ distributed to affected counties within the next 48 hours.

Answer: would be

The reporting verb 'announced' is past tense; in reported speech, 'will be' shifts to 'would be' to maintain sequence of tenses.

The selection panel praised the applicant's creativity, technical skill, and _______ to collaborate effectively with diverse teams.

Answer: ability

The series lists nouns: 'creativity,' 'skill,' and 'ability'; the noun form 'ability' is required for parallel structure.