Question 14·Medium·Boundaries
Moreover, as ______ emphasize, securing consistent funding remains critical to the initiative’s success.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For Standard English “boundaries” questions, especially those involving commas, first locate the main subject and verb of the clause and make sure nothing (like a comma) improperly separates them. Then decide whether any descriptive information (such as job titles and names) is essential—essential information should usually not be set off with commas. Quickly eliminate any choice that breaks up a short, essential phrase or that places a comma directly between the subject and its verb.
Hints
Focus on the subject of the verb
Read the sentence as: “as ______ emphasize.” The blank must be filled with one complete subject (who is doing the emphasizing) that comes directly before the verb “emphasize.”
Check for commas between the subject and the verb
Ask yourself: Does this option put any comma right before “emphasize”? If so, that would incorrectly separate the subject from its verb.
Think about titles and names
When a common noun like “economists” is immediately followed by specific people’s names that identify which economists, should those names usually be set off with commas, or should the whole phrase stay together without interruptions?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the sentence structure
Look at the core of the sentence:
Moreover, as ______ emphasize, securing consistent funding remains critical to the initiative’s success.
The blank must provide a plural subject (people) that directly connects to the verb “emphasize.” So whatever we put in the blank should function as one continuous subject phrase before the verb “emphasize.”
Recognize the role of titles and names
The words in the choices all involve “economists” plus the names “Priya Desai and Marco Alvarez.” Here, “economists” is a job title that directly describes those two people, similar to “scientist Marie Curie” or “author James Baldwin.”
When a title is followed by a specific name that is essential to identify who we mean, we do not set the name off with commas.
Apply comma rules to the subject and verb
Two key punctuation rules apply here:
- Do not put a comma between a subject and its verb. The entire phrase naming the people must stay together right before “emphasize.”
- Do not add unnecessary commas inside a short, essential phrase like a job title followed by specific names.
So any choice that either:
- separates the subject from “emphasize” with a comma, or
- breaks up the phrase “economists … and …” with extra commas,
will be incorrect.
Check each choice and select the only grammatically correct one
Now test each option in the sentence:
- Some choices place commas around the names or right before the verb “emphasize,” which wrongly interrupt the subject.
- One choice adds a comma before “and” even though there are only two names, creating an unnecessary break.
The only option that keeps the full subject together as one phrase and does not separate it from the verb with a comma is:
“economists Priya Desai and Marco Alvarez.”