Question resear
Researchers studying the “terra-cotta army,” the thousands of life-size statues of warriors found interred near the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang of China, were shocked to realize that the shape of each statue’s ears, like the shape of each person’s ears, blank unique.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
are
is
were
have been
Researchers studying the “terra-cotta army,” the thousands of life-size statues of warriors found interred
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries — Parenthetical punctuation: commas, dashes, parentheses. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is subject-verb agreement. The singular verb "is" agrees in number with the singular subject "the shape."
Choice A is incorrect because the plural verb "are" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "the shape." Choice C is incorrect because the plural verb "were" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "the shape." Choice D is incorrect because the plural verb "have been" doesn’t agree in number with the singular subject "the shape."
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