Question 144·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
In an effort to improve public transit, the city installed real-time arrival monitors at every bus stop, the data ______ from GPS units on each vehicle and transmitted wirelessly to passengers’ phones.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For Standard English sentence-completion questions that test verb forms and structure, first locate the main clause and see whether the underlined portion belongs to that clause or to a descriptive phrase after a comma. Then check whether the blank needs a full verb (with its own subject) or a non-finite form like a participle. Use nearby words for clues about parallel structure (for example, matching the form of another verb like “transmitted”) and eliminate any options that create comma splices, subject–verb disagreement, or illogical meanings. Quickly testing each option in the full sentence out loud or in your head is an efficient way to spot errors under time pressure.
Hints
Look at where the comma is
Notice that the main idea of the sentence is already complete before the comma. Ask yourself: after the comma, do we need another full sentence, or just a phrase that adds extra information?
Focus on how the data is described
The words after the blank talk about GPS units and wireless transmission. Think about whether the data is doing the action or having something done to it.
Match the form of “transmitted”
The word right after the blank is part of the phrase “and transmitted wirelessly.” Ask: what verb form in the blank would line up smoothly with “transmitted” so that both actions are described in the same way?
Watch out for creating a new full clause
If you pick an option with a full verb phrase (like something that could stand as its own sentence with the subject “the data”), you may accidentally turn the part after the comma into a run-on sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the whole sentence:
In an effort to improve public transit, the city installed real-time arrival monitors at every bus stop, the data ______ from GPS units on each vehicle and transmitted wirelessly to passengers’ phones.
The main sentence is complete before the comma: the city installed real-time arrival monitors at every bus stop.
What comes after the comma is extra information explaining how the system works; it should function as a descriptive phrase connected to the data, not as a new complete sentence.
Decide what kind of verb form is needed
After the comma we have:
the data ______ from GPS units on each vehicle and transmitted wirelessly to passengers’ phones
This part should describe what happens to the data (it is taken from GPS units and then transmitted). That means we want a passive, descriptive phrase, not a full clause with its own main verb that would create a run-on sentence.
Also notice the word transmitted is in a past-participle form; the word in the blank should match that form for smooth, parallel structure: ____ from GPS units ... and transmitted ....
Eliminate choices that create a full sentence
Check which options turn the part after the comma into its own complete sentence (independent clause):
- A) are collected: This makes the data are collected from GPS units... a full clause with a subject and main verb. Then the whole sentence becomes two independent clauses joined only by a comma, which is a comma splice (run-on).
- B) has been collected: This also creates a full clause (the data has been collected...), so it has the same comma-splice problem.
Because of the comma, we need a phrase, not a full additional clause, so A and B should be eliminated.
Check the remaining verb forms for meaning and parallelism
Now compare the remaining types of forms:
- D) collecting is an -ing form. Used this way, it would suggest that the data is doing the collecting (the data collecting from GPS units), which does not make sense: the data is collected, not the thing that collects. It also does not match the form of transmitted, breaking parallel structure.
We need a past-participle form that, like transmitted, shows something being done to the data and fits right before from GPS units... without adding another subject or helping verb.
Choose the option that creates a clear, parallel descriptive phrase
The only remaining option is C) collected, which is a past participle that combines smoothly with transmitted to make a parallel, passive descriptive phrase:
..., the data collected from GPS units on each vehicle and transmitted wirelessly to passengers’ phones.
This correctly describes what happens to the data and keeps the portion after the comma as a modifying phrase, not a separate sentence.
Correct answer: C) collected.