Question 214·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
During the workshop, participants practiced networking skills, wrote elevator pitches, and ______ professional goals for the upcoming year.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb tense and parallel structure questions, first locate the other verbs in the sentence and identify their tense and form (simple past, past progressive, etc.). Then make sure the word you choose matches that pattern, especially in lists joined by "and" or "or." Read the sentence with each option and eliminate any choice that changes the tense, adds or removes helping verbs compared to the others, or breaks the smooth, consistent pattern of the list.
Hints
Look at the list of actions
Identify the three actions that participants did: the first is "practiced networking skills," the second is "wrote elevator pitches," and the third one goes in the blank. How should that third action match the first two?
Check the tense of the verbs
Focus on the words "practiced" and "wrote." Are these in present, past, or future tense? The verb in the blank should be in the same tense.
Match the verb form, not just the meaning
Besides tense, notice whether the verbs use helping words like "have" or "were," or if they stand alone. The verb you choose should follow the same pattern as "practiced" and "wrote."
Test each option in the sentence
Read the full sentence with each choice in the blank. Which one sounds grammatically consistent with the other two actions and the time phrase "During the workshop"?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
The sentence lists three actions that participants did during the workshop:
- practiced networking skills,
- wrote elevator pitches, and
- ______ professional goals for the upcoming year.
The blank must complete this list of actions.
Notice the tense and form of the existing verbs
Look at the two verbs that are already in the list: "practiced" and "wrote."
- Both are in the simple past tense.
- Both are full verbs that stand on their own (not "were practicing" or "have practiced").
The verb in the blank should match this tense and form to keep the list parallel.
Classify the answer choices by tense and form
Go through each choice and identify its verb form:
- have identified – present perfect ("have" + past participle)
- identifying – present participle/gerund ("-ing" form)
- identified – simple past (and also past participle), no helping verb
- were identifying – past progressive ("were" + "-ing" verb)
Only one of these matches the simple past form used by "practiced" and "wrote."
Choose the verb that matches the pattern
To keep the list parallel, the third verb should be in the same simple past form as "practiced" and "wrote." The choice that is in simple past without an extra helping verb is "identified," so the completed sentence is:
"During the workshop, participants practiced networking skills, wrote elevator pitches, and identified professional goals for the upcoming year."