Question 137·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, released a statement condemning illegal wildlife trafficking, ________ it "an assault on both biodiversity and humanity."
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb-form questions like this, first locate the main subject and verb and ask whether the part with the blank needs to be a new clause or just a descriptive phrase. If the sentence before the blank is already complete, you usually need a modifier (like a participial phrase) rather than another finite verb. Then check tense and timing: match the time frame set by the main verb, and avoid forms that imply a different time order unless the context clearly demands it. Quickly eliminate options that would require adding “and,” changing punctuation, or that create unnecessary tense shifts.
Hints
Check if the first part is already a complete sentence
Look at the words before the comma. Do you already have a subject and a main verb that complete a thought? If so, the part after the comma should not be another full sentence on its own.
Think about what the phrase after the comma is describing
Ask yourself: Is the blank describing a new action Guterres took, or is it giving more detail about what is in the statement he released?
Match the verb form to the sentence structure
Since the phrase after the comma is adding descriptive information, consider which option can work as a phrase that modifies "statement" instead of acting as another main verb. Also pay attention to the time frame created by “released” earlier in the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the main clause and its completeness
Read up to the comma: "António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, released a statement condemning illegal wildlife trafficking,". This part already has a clear subject ("António Guterres") and main verb ("released") and forms a complete sentence. That means whatever comes after the comma should not be another full independent clause by itself; instead, it should add descriptive information about the statement.
Decide what the phrase after the comma must do
The phrase in the blank is describing what is in the statement: it is giving more information about the statement by telling what it does to illegal wildlife trafficking (it labels or characterizes it). This kind of extra information is usually expressed as a participial phrase (a verb ending in -ing that functions like an adjective), such as "..., ___ it 'an assault...'" modifying "statement." So we want a verb form that can act as a modifier, not a separate main verb that would require a conjunction like "and."
Eliminate verb forms that don’t fit the structure or time
Check each type of verb form:
- A simple past tense verb (like "called") after the comma would create another main verb and make the sentence grammatically awkward without "and" (we would need "and called it...").
- A perfect participle (like a form with "having") usually shows an action completed before another past action. That would suggest he labeled it this way before releasing the statement, which does not match the intended meaning; he is labeling it in the statement.
- A simple present tense verb (like "calls") would clash with the past tense "released" and incorrectly shift the time frame. That leaves the form that acts as a present participle modifier and matches the timing of the statement.
Choose the participial phrase that modifies “statement” correctly
The only choice that is a straightforward present participle (verb+ing with no helper) is "calling", which fits perfectly as a participial phrase: "released a statement condemning illegal wildlife trafficking, calling it 'an assault on both biodiversity and humanity.'" This keeps the sentence in past time, avoids creating a second independent clause, and clearly describes what the statement does.