Question 101·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
During the early twentieth-century expansion of public libraries, the city of Riverton commissioned a new building designed by architect Helen Nguyen, whose plans—comprising sweeping glass facades and open reading rooms—_____ praised for blending modern aesthetics with environmental efficiency.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject-verb agreement questions, first strip away extra phrases (especially those between commas or dashes) to clearly see the core subject and verb. Identify the true subject (singular or plural), then match the verb form to it. Next, check the time frame of the sentence—look at other verbs and time signals (like dates or time periods)—and choose the tense that is consistent with that context. When dealing with "to be" forms in passive constructions (like "___ praised"), be especially careful about both number (was/were) and tense (past vs. present).
Hints
Find what is being described by the blank
Cover the extra information between the dashes and read: "whose plans ___ praised for blending modern aesthetics with environmental efficiency." What word is the verb connecting to?
Check subject-verb agreement
Look at the word "plans." Is it singular or plural? The verb in the blank must match that number.
Match the verb to the time frame
The sentence talks about events during the early twentieth century and uses "commissioned" earlier. Should the verb in the blank describe an action in the past, present, or continuing up to now?
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the part of the sentence that needs a verb
Focus on the section after the dash: "whose plans—comprising sweeping glass facades and open reading rooms—_____ praised for blending modern aesthetics with environmental efficiency."
Here, "praised" is a past participle, so it needs a helping verb (a form of "to be") to form a passive construction: "plans ___ praised." That blank is what you are choosing.
Identify the subject that the verb must match
Ask: what is being praised? The word "plans" is the thing that was praised.
So the subject of the verb is "plans," which is plural. The verb form in the blank must agree with a plural subject.
Match the verb tense to the time of the action
The sentence describes something that happened in the past:
- "During the early twentieth-century expansion..."
- "the city of Riverton commissioned a new building..."
Because "commissioned" is in the simple past and the context is clearly past time, the praising of the plans also happened in the past. So the helping verb should be in past tense, not present or present perfect.
Combine number (plural) and tense (past) to choose the correct form
You need a verb that is:
- plural, to agree with "plans"
- simple past tense, to match the past-time context
Among the choices, only "were" is the plural simple past form of "to be," so the correct sentence is:
"...whose plans—comprising sweeping glass facades and open reading rooms—were praised for blending modern aesthetics with environmental efficiency."