Question 175·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
The collection of vintage photographs on display at the library ______ visitors a glimpse into the town's early history.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For subject-verb agreement questions, first strip the sentence down to its core by temporarily removing prepositional phrases and other modifiers (for example, cross out "of vintage photographs on display at the library"). Identify the true subject and decide if it is singular or plural, then match it with a verb that has the correct number and the most logical tense for the context (general fact = simple present, ongoing now = present progressive, etc.). Finally, read the full sentence with your chosen option to confirm it sounds natural and consistent.
Hints
Locate the true subject
Ask yourself: What is actually doing the action in this sentence—"collection" or "photographs"?
Ignore extra description
Try crossing out the phrase "of vintage photographs on display at the library" and read the sentence without it. What subject and verb remain?
Match number and tense
Once you know the subject, decide whether it is singular or plural, and then pick the verb that both matches that number and describes a general fact (not just something happening right now or already completed).
Compare verb forms
Look at how each option changes the meaning and time of the action. Which one sounds like a simple, general statement about what this collection does?
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the sentence’s main subject
Ignore the details for a moment and look for the main noun that does the action.
The sentence begins: "The collection of vintage photographs on display at the library ______ visitors a glimpse..."
Here, the main subject is "collection," not "photographs" or "visitors." "Collection" is a singular noun.
Ignore prepositional phrases when matching subject and verb
The phrase "of vintage photographs on display at the library" is a prepositional phrase that describes the collection. It does not change the subject from singular to plural.
So the subject-verb agreement must match "collection" (singular), no matter that "photographs" is plural inside the phrase.
Decide on the correct verb form and tense
We need a verb form that:
- Matches a singular subject ("collection"), and
- Fits a general statement about what the collection does (not something happening only now or in the past).
A general fact like this normally uses the simple present tense with the singular form of the verb.
Choose the answer that matches singular, simple present
Among the choices, only "gives" is a simple present verb form that agrees with the singular subject "collection" and correctly completes the sentence:
"The collection of vintage photographs on display at the library gives visitors a glimpse into the town's early history."