A verb form question tests whether the blank says what a subject does or describes it. Find the subject, who or what the sentence is about, then sort the forms. Main verbs show tense, alone or with a helper; an -ing form without a helper can describe, while an -ed form can do either job. Read to the period, past details between commas, to count the main verbs. Two main verbs need a joining word or separate clauses linked with suitable punctuation.
Hints
- Hint 1
Look for the person the sentence is about after the opening phrase about the study.
- Hint 2
Read past the words between the commas and find the verb that says what Ortiz does.
- Hint 3
Check whether the blank has a new subject or a joining word. What job can the words between the commas do alongside Ortiz's main verb?
Step-by-step
Sort the forms and count the main verbs
Step 1Find Ortiz and sort the forms
The sentence is about bibliographer Lena Ortiz, so she's the subject. Does she still need a main verb, the verb that says what she does, or does the blank describe her? Sort the forms: interprets and has interpreted are main-verb forms, while an -ing form without a helper isn't. An -ed form can do either job, so we'll test it.
- Step 2
Read beyond the commas
What does Ortiz do after the phrase between the commas? We reach contends that the book’s physical design is inseparable from its literary argument, which gives Ortiz her main verb: she contends, or argues. The blank has no subject of its own and no joining word such as and connecting it to that verb. So the words between the commas must describe Ortiz, rather than give her another main verb.
- Step 3
Test the past-tense form
Could interpreted only describe Ortiz? The was test asks whether adding was makes sense and shows something being done to her: “Ortiz was interpreted the volume’s unusual page layout and unsigned title page.” That doesn't work because Ortiz reads the layout and title page herself. Here, interpreted is a main verb, so it gives Ortiz a second main verb without a joining word, as interprets and has interpreted also would.
- Step 4
Choose the form that describes
Use the -ing form for what Ortiz is doing: interpreting describes how she reads the layout and title page. With the rest of the phrase, it tells us that she sees those features as coordinated efforts to shape Walt Whitman’s public persona. Choice B.