Question 16·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
The collection of rare stamps, amassed over several decades, _____ on display at the municipal museum until next month.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject-verb agreement questions, first isolate the core subject by crossing out prepositional phrases (like "of rare stamps") and descriptive clauses. Decide if that core subject is singular or plural, then eliminate any answer choices whose verbs don’t match in number. Finally, check that the verb tense fits any time clues (like "until next month" or "last year"), and choose the option that matches both the subject and the time frame.
Hints
Locate the main subject
Ask yourself: What is the thing that is on display at the municipal museum? Is it the stamps themselves, or something else?
Ignore extra phrases around the subject
Mentally remove "of rare stamps" and "amassed over several decades" and see what subject remains. Then decide if that subject is singular or plural.
Match verb number and time
Once you know if the subject is singular or plural, look at which verb forms match that. Also, think about whether the sentence is talking about something happening now, continuing into the near future, or only in the past.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence meaning
The sentence describes a collection of stamps that is currently on display at the municipal museum and will remain there until next month. This tells you the action is happening now and continuing into the near future, not something that ended in the past.
Identify the true subject
Strip away the extra information:
- Full subject phrase: "The collection of rare stamps, amassed over several decades,"
- Ignore the prepositional phrase "of rare stamps" (it just tells what the collection contains).
- Ignore the descriptive phrase "amassed over several decades" (it just adds detail).
The core subject is "collection", which is singular.
Check each verb for agreement and tense
Now look at the verbs:
- are = present tense, plural verb
- is = present tense, singular verb
- have been = present perfect, plural verb
- were = past tense, plural verb
You need a verb that is singular (to match "collection") and in a form that fits the idea of something that is on display now and remains so until next month.
Choose the verb that fits singular subject and present time
Only "is" is both singular and simple present, matching the singular subject "collection" and the time frame indicated by "until next month." So the correct answer is B) is.