Question tortoi
Tortoises can be found in many works of literature. For example, in Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play Arcadia, there is a tortoise that blank by two names (Plautus and Lightning) and appears in both of the play’s parallel timelines. As a character, the tortoise symbolizes the connection between the past and present.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
goes
will have gone
went
had gone
Tortoises can be found in many works of literature. For example, in Tom Stoppard’s 1993 play
Hard-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Form, Structure, and Sense — Parallel structure. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice A is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verbs to express tense in a sentence. In this choice, the present tense verb "goes" is consistent with the other present tense verbs ("appears" and "symbolizes") used to describe the tortoise in Stoppard’s play. Furthermore, it’s conventional to use the present tense when discussing a literary work.
Choice B is incorrect because the future perfect tense verb "will have gone" isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the tortoise in Stoppard’s play. Choice C is incorrect because the past tense verb "went" isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the tortoise in Stoppard’s play. Choice D is incorrect because the past perfect tense verb "had gone" isn’t consistent with the other present tense verbs used to describe the tortoise in Stoppard’s play.
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