Question 231·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
Having been translated from Sumerian clay tablets, _____ illustrate that early merchants meticulously tracked every barley shipment.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-structure questions with an opening modifier (such as a phrase beginning with "Having been..." or "Walking down the street,..."), first identify what the modifier is supposed to describe and make sure the noun right after the comma is the logical match. Then check that this noun correctly serves as the subject of the main verb and agrees in number (singular/plural). Read the sentence with each option inserted, listening for both grammatical agreement and real-world logic, and quickly eliminate any choice that makes the subject illogical for the modifier or mismatched with the verb.
Hints
Isolate the main sentence
Cover the introductory phrase and read just the main clause: "_____ illustrate that early merchants meticulously tracked every barley shipment." What kind of word or phrase needs to go in the blank so this stands alone as a complete, logical sentence?
Match the modifier to the noun
Look at "Having been translated from Sumerian clay tablets". Ask yourself: which type of thing, from the answer choices, could reasonably have been translated from clay tablets?
Check subject–verb agreement
The verb in the main clause is "illustrate," which is plural. Which choices would make the subject singular, and which would make it plural? Eliminate any option that does not agree in number with "illustrate."
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the main clause and what’s missing
Ignore the opening phrase for a moment and focus on the core sentence:
"_____ illustrate that early merchants meticulously tracked every barley shipment."
We need a subject that comes before the verb "illustrate." Whatever we choose must:
- Act as the thing doing the illustrating
- Match the plural verb "illustrate" (so the subject must be plural)
Understand what the opening phrase is modifying
Now look at the beginning: "Having been translated from Sumerian clay tablets, ..."
This is a modifier that describes what was translated. So the blank must also refer to something that can reasonably be translated from clay tablets, such as a text or documents, not an action or behavior.
Test each option for logic and grammar
Check each answer choice against both requirements:
- Can this thing be translated from clay tablets?
- Does it make sense as the thing that illustrates the idea?
- Is it plural, so it agrees with "illustrate"?
Eliminate any choice that:
- Describes an action/behavior rather than an object that can be translated
- Is singular while the verb is plural
- Makes the sentence illogical when you read it out loud
Choose the only option that fully fits
Only "the surviving accounting records" are concrete items that can realistically have been translated from Sumerian clay tablets and are plural, correctly matching the verb "illustrate." So the completed sentence is:
"Having been translated from Sumerian clay tablets, the surviving accounting records illustrate that early merchants meticulously tracked every barley shipment."