Question 117·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
Meticulously cataloged and cross-referenced on color-coded index cards, ______ are invaluable to scholars investigating the intellectual life of the Harlem Renaissance.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For modifier questions like this, first identify the introductory phrase and decide what noun it should logically describe. Then, check that the choice you put after the comma is (1) something that could realistically be described by that phrase, and (2) grammatically matches the verb that follows (singular/plural, complete structure). Quickly test each option in the full sentence to hear whether any part sounds illogical or incomplete, and eliminate those before choosing your answer.
Hints
Focus on the opening phrase
Look at the phrase before the comma: "Meticulously cataloged and cross-referenced on color-coded index cards." Ask yourself: what could actually be cataloged and cross-referenced on index cards?
Check what the blank is doing in the sentence
The blank is followed by the verb "are." That means the words you choose must function as the subject of the sentence. Make sure the subject and verb match in number (singular vs. plural).
Watch out for dangling or incomplete phrases
Make sure the words in the blank follow naturally from the introductory phrase and that no part of the sentence (like "whose personal library") is left grammatically incomplete.
Test each option in the sentence
Read the full sentence with each answer choice in place. Which one keeps the meaning logical and the grammar smooth, especially right before and after the blank?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the sentence structure
The sentence starts with a descriptive phrase: "Meticulously cataloged and cross-referenced on color-coded index cards," followed by a comma and a blank, then "are invaluable to scholars...".
This is a common structure where the opening phrase is a modifier that must logically and grammatically describe the noun or noun phrase that comes right after the comma (in the blank).
Determine what the opening phrase should describe
Ask: What is "meticulously cataloged and cross-referenced on color-coded index cards"?
Logically, index cards are used to organize items like titles or books, not people or broad groups. So the blank should refer to something that could realistically be cataloged on index cards.
Check subject–verb agreement with "are"
The word right after the blank is the verb "are," which is plural. That means the subject in the blank must also be grammatically plural.
- A singular subject like "library" would need "is," not "are."
- A plural subject like "books" correctly takes "are."
Eliminate choices that are illogical or ungrammatical
Go through each option:
- Choice A makes the subject effectively "library," which is singular, but the verb is "are" (plural), creating subject–verb disagreement. It also suggests the library itself is cataloged on index cards, which is odd.
- Choice B makes it sound like scholars are cataloged on index cards, which is illogical.
- Choice C gives "novelist Zora Neale Hurston, whose personal library" and then jumps directly to the verb "are". The phrase "whose personal library" is left hanging and the subject is still the singular "novelist," which does not agree with "are."
Only one remaining option names something that can be cataloged on index cards and is plural to match "are."
Select the choice that fits meaning and grammar
The only answer that (1) can logically be cataloged and cross-referenced on index cards, and (2) is plural to agree with "are," is "the books in novelist Zora Neale Hurston's personal library." This makes the complete, correct sentence:
"Meticulously cataloged and cross-referenced on color-coded index cards, the books in novelist Zora Neale Hurston's personal library are invaluable to scholars investigating the intellectual life of the Harlem Renaissance."