Question 173·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
In top-level international chess tournaments, a single unexpected loss can be demoralizing, yet the best players recognize that setbacks, rather than victories, ______ their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb-agreement and form questions, first strip the sentence down to its core: cross out or mentally ignore phrases between commas or after words like "rather than" and find the true subject. Decide whether that subject is singular or plural, and note the time frame or generality of the statement to choose the right tense (often simple present for general truths). Then check that the answer choice not only matches the subject in number and tense but also stays parallel with any nearby verbs connected by "and" or "or."
Hints
Locate the subject that controls the blank
Focus on the phrase around the blank: "setbacks, rather than victories, ______ their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking." Which noun is actually doing the action here?
Check number (singular vs. plural) and ignore interrupters
Is the true subject singular or plural? Be careful not to let the words between commas ("rather than victories") distract you from the main noun that the verb must agree with.
Match tense and parallel structure
The sentence states a general fact about what usually happens. What verb tense is normally used for general truths? Also, make sure the verb in the blank works smoothly with "and sharpen" that comes right after it.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence and the blank
Read the sentence for overall meaning: it describes what happens in general in top-level chess tournaments. The blank is the main verb that connects "setbacks, rather than victories" to what they do: "_____ their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking." So the word in the blank must work as a main verb alongside "sharpen."
Find the true subject of the verb
Identify which noun is doing the action of the verb in the blank.
The phrase is: "setbacks, rather than victories, ______ their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking."
Ignore the extra phrase between commas, "rather than victories," because it’s just a comparison. The core structure is:
- Subject: setbacks
- Predicate: ______ their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking
"Setbacks" is plural, so the verb must agree with a plural subject.
Decide on the correct tense and form
The sentence expresses a general truth about what usually happens: a single loss can be demoralizing, yet the best players recognize that setbacks do something positive.
For general truths, English usually uses the simple present ("they do," "they help," etc.). Also, the verb in the blank must match and parallel the plain-form verb "sharpen" after "and" so the structure is:
- setbacks ___ their resilience and (setbacks) sharpen their strategic thinking.
So we need a simple present verb form that works with a plural subject and fits cleanly before "their resilience" while coordinating with "sharpen."
Check each answer choice for agreement and parallelism
Now test each choice with the subject "setbacks":
- A) builds → "setbacks ... builds" is wrong because "builds" is singular, but "setbacks" is plural; also it would break parallelism with "sharpen."
- B) has built → This is present perfect and also singular ("has"), which does not match plural "setbacks," and it doesn’t line up well with the simple present "sharpen."
- C) building → This is not a complete verb form for the main verb here; we would need an extra helping verb ("are building"), and it doesn’t parallel "sharpen."
- D) build → "setbacks ... build their resilience and sharpen their strategic thinking" is grammatical: plural subject with plural simple-present verb, and it’s parallel with "sharpen."
Therefore, the correct answer is D) build.