Question 110·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
During the 1960s, architect Lina Bo Bardi designed the São Paulo Museum of Art, _____ elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers dramatically above street level, creating a vast open plaza beneath.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For pronoun and relative pronoun questions, first identify what noun the blank refers to and what role the missing word plays in the clause (subject, object, or something before a noun). Check whether the noun is a person or a thing and whether the clause is extra information set off by commas or essential information. Then quickly test each option in the sentence, eliminating choices that (1) refer to the wrong kind of noun (person vs. thing), (2) cannot fill that grammatical role (like acting as a subject when one already exists), or (3) do not fit after a comma in a nonrestrictive clause. This targeted check is faster and more reliable than going by what “sounds right.”
Hints
Look at the clause after the comma
Focus on the words after the comma: "_____ elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers dramatically above street level." What kind of clause is this, and what is it describing?
Identify the relationship between the museum and the frame
Ask yourself: How is "the São Paulo Museum of Art" related to the "elevated concrete-and-glass frame" mentioned right after the blank?
Think about the type and role of the pronoun
The word in the blank must (1) refer back to the museum (a thing, not a person) and (2) fit grammatically before the noun "frame" while introducing a descriptive clause. Which option can do that?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the structure of the sentence
Read the sentence with the blank:
"During the 1960s, architect Lina Bo Bardi designed the São Paulo Museum of Art, _____ elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers dramatically above street level, creating a vast open plaza beneath."
The part after the comma is extra information about "the São Paulo Museum of Art" and forms a clause describing the museum.
Identify what the blank must connect
The blank comes right before "elevated concrete-and-glass frame." That frame belongs to the museum.
So the word in the blank must:
- Refer back to "the São Paulo Museum of Art" (a thing, not a person)
- Introduce a descriptive clause
- Fit grammatically before the noun phrase "elevated concrete-and-glass frame" in a way that links the museum to its frame.
Determine the grammatical role of the missing word
Look at the clause structure around the blank: "_____ elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers dramatically above street level."
In this clause, the true subject is "elevated concrete-and-glass frame," and the verb is "hovers." The blank is not the subject; instead, it comes before the noun "frame" and must work like a determiner that connects "museum" to "frame." That means we need a relative word that can stand before a noun to show that the noun is related to the earlier noun (the museum).
Test each option and choose the one that fits the role
Now plug in each option:
- "...the São Paulo Museum of Art, who elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers..." → "who" is used for people, not things like museums, and it does not work before a noun like this.
- "...the São Paulo Museum of Art, which elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers..." → "which" cannot directly modify a following noun; this is ungrammatical.
- "...the São Paulo Museum of Art, that elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers..." → This reads as if "that" is just pointing to "frame" (like "that frame"), not correctly linking back to "museum" in a relative clause after a comma.
- "...the São Paulo Museum of Art, whose elevated concrete-and-glass frame hovers..." → This correctly links the museum to its frame and fits the grammar of the clause.
So the correct answer is D) whose.