Question 14·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Increasingly aware of the environmental impact of textile production, designers are experimenting with mushroom-based leather alternatives, ______ the garments can decompose naturally after use.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For questions that ask you to complete a sentence, first isolate the main subject and verb and check whether the part before the blank is a complete clause. Then use punctuation clues—especially commas—to decide whether the blank should introduce a new clause or a modifying phrase. Quickly eliminate choices that create fragments (verbs without subjects) or misuse commas, and among the remaining options, pick the one that gives a clear, logical relationship (such as result, cause, or contrast) while matching the structure signaled by the punctuation.
Hints
Check the core sentence first
Ignore the introductory phrase and the blank for a moment. Read: "Designers are experimenting with mushroom-based leather alternatives ... the garments can decompose naturally after use." What relationship should the phrase in the blank show between experimenting and decomposition?
Notice the comma right before the blank
The part before the comma is a complete sentence. After a comma, do you expect another full sentence, or a phrase that modifies or explains the first sentence?
Test for missing subjects or fragments
For each answer choice, plug it in and ask: After the comma, do I now have a subject and verb, or am I starting with a verb that has no subject?
Think about -ing vs. "to" phrases
Which remaining option after you’ve removed the fragments makes the phrase after the comma feel like a smooth, nonessential modifier of the whole action rather than an awkward purpose phrase?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Break the sentence into parts:
- Intro phrase: "Increasingly aware of the environmental impact of textile production," (describes designers)
- Main clause: "designers are experimenting with mushroom-based leather alternatives,"
- Phrase after the comma: blank + "the garments can decompose naturally after use."
So the blank must smoothly connect the experimenting with the idea that garments can decompose naturally.
Decide what kind of phrase is needed after the comma
The part before the comma ("designers are experimenting with...") is a complete sentence. After the comma, we do not have a new subject, so we don’t want a new, full independent clause. Instead, we want a modifier phrase that explains the result or consequence of the experimenting.
Look for an answer choice that can follow a comma and logically modify the entire action "designers are experimenting with mushroom-based leather alternatives."
Eliminate choices that create sentence structure errors
Check each option after the comma:
- B) ensures that → After the comma, this is just a verb phrase with no subject ("___ ensures that the garments can decompose..."). We would need something like "which ensures" or another subject. So B is grammatically incomplete.
- C) ensure → Same problem: "ensure" is a verb that needs a subject, but there is none after the comma. It also mismatches the progressive tense "are experimenting." So C is also grammatically incomplete.
So B and C can be eliminated because they create fragments or subject–verb structure errors.
Compare the two remaining structures: infinitive vs. -ing modifier
Now compare:
- A) to ensure → "..., to ensure the garments can decompose naturally after use." This is an infinitive of purpose. In standard usage, when an infinitive phrase expresses the main purpose of the action, it usually does not follow a comma: we would write "designers are experimenting ... to ensure the garments can decompose" (no comma). With the comma, this version is considered weak or nonstandard on the SAT because it makes the purpose phrase look like a nonessential afterthought.
- D) ensuring that → "..., ensuring that the garments can decompose naturally after use." This is a participial (-ing) phrase that cleanly follows the comma and modifies the entire preceding action, showing the result/consequence of the experimenting.
Because the comma clearly signals a nonessential modifying phrase, the -ing form is the best grammatical and stylistic fit.
Correct answer: D) ensuring that.