Question 112·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Miranda Ramirez is writing a blog about urban gardening. In a recent post, she described how some cities have converted abandoned lots into community gardens, and she explained that the number of residents who ______ in these gardens has tripled over the past decade.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb-form questions in relative clauses (like "people who ___"), first identify the main subject and verb and the primary time frame of the sentence. Then decide what the clause with the blank is doing: is it describing a general characteristic, a one-time past event, or something happening right now? For general, ongoing characteristics, prefer the simple present. Quickly test each option in the full sentence, eliminating any that shift the time frame (past, ongoing change, or single moment) away from what the rest of the sentence clearly indicates.
Hints
Find the main subject and verb
Ignore the extra description and locate the main subject and verb of the clause starting with "that": what is the "number" doing, and over what time period?
Notice what the blank is describing
The blank is inside the phrase "residents who ______ in these gardens." Is this describing a one-time past event, something happening only right now, or an ongoing/general kind of activity?
Match the time frame and function
The phrase "has tripled over the past decade" already expresses a change over time. For the blank, think about which verb form best states what these residents typically do in relation to the gardens.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the main structure of the sentence
Focus on the core part of the sentence inside the "that" clause:
"the number of residents who ______ in these gardens has tripled over the past decade."
The main subject is "the number of residents", and its verb is "has tripled." The blank is inside a describing phrase (a relative clause) that tells us what kind of residents we are talking about.
Understand the time frame
The phrase "has tripled over the past decade" uses the present perfect tense to show a change that started in the past and continues up to now.
The blank is not the main action changing over time; instead, it describes what these residents do in relation to the gardens in a general, ongoing way.
Decide what kind of verb form is needed in the clause "who ______ in these gardens"
That clause is describing a general characteristic of the residents (what they do with the gardens), not a one-time or completed event.
For general, regular actions or characteristics that are true now, English usually uses the simple present tense (like "people who shop here," "students who study," "residents who vote").
So we want the option that expresses a general, current action in simple present and agrees with "residents."
Test each option and choose the best one
Plug each choice into the sentence:
- "residents who have participated" suggests residents who at some point in their lives did this, not necessarily a current, general group, and it makes the time frame feel doubled and awkward with "has tripled over the past decade."
- "residents who participated" puts the action in the past, as if it is no longer ongoing.
- "residents who are participating" focuses on what is happening right now, not on a general pattern over time.
- "residents who participate" describes what these residents generally do now and works smoothly with "the number ... has tripled over the past decade."
Thus, the correct answer is D) participate.