Question 65·Medium·Boundaries
While on a lecture tour of the United States in 1882, Oscar Wilde famously declared, “I have nothing to declare except my genius.” According to contemporary newspaper accounts, the remark was delivered at New York’s Customs House; however, some historians doubt that _____ ever uttered.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-boundary and punctuation questions, first identify the core subject-verb structure of the clause. Check whether the blank needs a verb, conjunction, or punctuation mark; then apply rules: do not separate a subject from its verb with commas, dashes, or colons, and be sure each clause after words like "that" is grammatically complete. Eliminate choices that introduce unnecessary or incorrect punctuation inside a single clause.
Hints
Focus on the clause after "that"
Look at the part of the sentence that begins with "that": "that ___ ever uttered." Ask yourself: what is the subject here, and what is missing for this to be a complete idea?
Look at the word "uttered"
Notice that "uttered" is a form of a verb that usually appears with a helper (like "was" or "has been") in passive constructions. Think about what kind of word should go before "ever uttered."
Question the punctuation
Would you normally put a comma, dash, or colon between a subject (like "the quip") and its verb? Consider whether any punctuation is needed at all in the blank.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the key part of the sentence: "some historians doubt that ___ ever uttered." After the word "that," we need a complete clause (a subject and a verb). Here, the implied subject is "the quip," and we need a verb that works with it.
Identify what type of word is missing
Look at what immediately follows the blank: "ever uttered." "Uttered" is a past participle, which usually needs a helping (auxiliary) verb like "was" to form a correct verb phrase in passive voice, as in "was uttered" or "has been uttered." So the blank must be filled with a helping verb, not punctuation.
Check punctuation rules within a clause
The phrase after the blank is continuing the same clause: "the quip ___ ever uttered." Within a single clause, you do not separate the subject ("the quip") from its verb phrase with a comma, dash, or colon. Putting punctuation there would incorrectly break up the subject and its verb.
Choose the option that gives a correct verb phrase and punctuation
Options that add punctuation before the verb wrongly split the subject from its verb phrase and break the sentence grammar. The only choice that simply supplies the needed helping verb and keeps the sentence correctly punctuated is "the quip was," forming the correct phrase: "that the quip was ever uttered."