Question 11·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Art Nouveau, a style of architecture ______ by sweeping curves and interlaced floral patterns, gained popularity across Europe in the late nineteenth century.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb-form questions like this, first locate the main subject and main verb of the sentence; if a verb choice appears in a phrase between commas or right after the noun before the main verb, it often needs to be a participle (modifier), not another main verb. Then, check whether the noun is doing the action or receiving it; use present participles (‑ing) for active, ongoing actions and past participles (often ‑ed) for passive, descriptive phrases like "X, ___ by Y," choosing the form that keeps the sentence grammatical and natural.
Hints
Find the main verb
Ignore the middle phrase for a moment and look at the core: "Art Nouveau … ______ … gained popularity." What is the main verb of this sentence?
Decide what the blank is doing
Notice that the blank comes between "a style of architecture" and a comma, followed by "by sweeping curves and interlaced floral patterns." Is this blank starting a new clause, or is it part of a description of the architecture?
Think about verb forms and voice
Once you know the blank is part of a descriptive phrase, look at which choices can act as modifiers rather than main verbs, and ask: does the style do the action of the verb, or is it receiving that action when used with "by"?
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the main sentence structure
Strip the sentence down to see its core:
- "Art Nouveau, a style of architecture ______ by sweeping curves and interlaced floral patterns, gained popularity across Europe..."
The main subject is "Art Nouveau" and the main verb is "gained." That means the blank cannot contain another main verb; it belongs to a descriptive phrase about "a style of architecture."
Understand the role of the blank
The blank comes right after "a style of architecture" and before the comma, followed by the phrase "by sweeping curves and interlaced floral patterns."
So the structure is:
- "a style of architecture ______ by sweeping curves and interlaced floral patterns"
This is a descriptive chunk (a modifier) telling us what kind of architecture it is. We need a verb form that works as part of this descriptive phrase, not a separate main verb of the sentence.
Eliminate choices that act as main verbs
Check which choices function as full verb phrases and would clash with the main verb "gained."
- A) distinguishes – present-tense main verb ("architecture distinguishes"), which would give us two main verbs: "distinguishes" and "gained" with no connector.
- B) was distinguished – past-tense verb phrase, again creating two main verbs with the same subject: "was distinguished" and "gained."
Since we already have the main verb "gained," these options break the sentence structure and can be eliminated.
Choose the correct participle form for the modifier
We are left with verb forms that can act as modifiers:
- C) distinguishing – present participle, usually showing the subject doing the action (an active sense).
- D) distinguished – past participle, usually showing the subject receiving the action (a passive, descriptive sense) in phrases like "X, distinguished by Y."
Here, the style is being described by its sweeping curves and floral patterns (it is characterized by them), so we need the past participle form that fits naturally after "architecture" and before "by": "a style of architecture distinguished by sweeping curves…". Thus, the correct answer is D) distinguished.