Question 134·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Some of the modernist painters believed that art’s purpose was to reflect society, whereas others believed that art’s power lay in its capacity to transform society; still, the movement as a whole _____ unified by a shared desire to break from tradition.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb-agreement and tense questions where you must choose a verb form for a blank, first isolate the clause containing the blank and identify its subject; decide if it is singular or plural, and immediately eliminate answer choices that don’t match that number. Then, look at nearby verbs in the sentence to determine the time frame (past, present, ongoing, etc.) and choose the answer whose tense is consistent with that context, avoiding options that shift the time unnecessarily.
Hints
Locate the subject of the blank
Read the part of the sentence right before the blank: what is the noun phrase that the verb in the blank must agree with?
Check for singular or plural
Ask yourself whether that subject refers to one thing or more than one thing. This will tell you if you need a singular or plural verb.
Match the time frame
Look at the other verbs in the sentence (like "believed"). Are they talking about the present, the past, or a time that continues into the present? Choose a verb form that stays consistent with that time frame.
Eliminate by number and tense
Cross out any options that are plural if your subject is singular, and then among the remaining choices, pick the one whose tense best matches "believed."
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the subject of the blank
Focus on the clause containing the blank: "still, the movement as a whole ___ unified by a shared desire to break from tradition." The subject here is "the movement as a whole". The core noun is "movement," which is singular; phrases like "as a whole" do not change number.
Decide on singular vs. plural verb forms
Because the subject "movement" is singular, you must choose a singular verb form. That immediately rules out any verb form that is plural (forms used with "they").
Match the verb tense to the rest of the sentence
Earlier in the sentence, the verbs "believed" and "believed" are in the simple past tense, describing a historical situation about modernist painters. The clause with the blank should stay in the same time frame, so it also needs a simple past verb form, not a present-perfect form like "has been" or "have been."
Select the only verb form that fits number and tense
The only answer choice that is both singular (to match "the movement") and in the simple past tense (to match "believed") is "was", as in: "still, the movement as a whole was unified by a shared desire to break from tradition."