Question 181·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Because the city museum was closed for renovations, many tourists ______ its online collection instead.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb tense and form questions, first identify the subject and the blank’s role: does the blank need a main verb that can stand alone, or a different form (like an infinitive or participle)? Next, look for time clues in the sentence (past, present, future) and choose the verb tense that matches those clues. Finally, plug each remaining option into the sentence and quickly test: does it create a complete, natural-sounding sentence with consistent tense? Eliminate any choice that causes a fragment or a tense mismatch.
Hints
Find the main clause
Ignore the beginning for a moment and look at the part after the comma: many tourists ______ its online collection instead. What is the subject here, and what kind of word must fill the blank?
Look for time clues
Focus on the verb in the first part: was closed for renovations. Is this talking about the past, present, or future? How should that influence the verb you choose for the blank?
Check for sentence completeness
After you plug in a choice, read the sentence out loud in your head. Does it sound like a full, complete sentence with a clear action, or does it feel like something is missing?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
The sentence starts with a dependent clause: Because the city museum was closed for renovations, and then needs a complete main clause: many tourists ______ its online collection instead.
In that main clause, many tourists is the subject, and the blank must be filled with the main verb that completes the thought.
Use the time clue to choose the tense
The verb was closed in the first part of the sentence is in the simple past tense. This tells us the sentence is talking about a completed situation in the past (the museum was closed at that time).
To follow standard English conventions, the verb in the main clause should normally match this past time frame.
Check which options make a complete main clause
The main clause needs a finite verb (a verb that shows tense) right after many tourists to make a complete sentence: many tourists ______ its online collection instead.
- A base form like
exploreis present tense here. - An infinitive like
to exploreor a participle likeexploringusually needs another verb before it (for example,decided to exploreorwere exploring) to make a complete clause.
So we are looking for the option that is both a finite verb and matches the past time frame.
Select the correct verb form
Among the choices, explored is the simple past-tense verb that lets many tourists be the subject of a complete main clause and matches the past-tense verb was closed. The completed sentence is: Because the city museum was closed for renovations, many tourists explored its online collection instead.