A verb form question tests whether the sentence has a main verb, which says what the subject does or is. Find the subject, then read to the period, setting extra descriptions aside. An -ing form needs a helper to be a main verb. If the verb is missing, match the subject's number: one thing takes a singular form, and more than one takes a plural form. Nearby nouns can pull you toward the wrong form.
Hints
- Hint 1
At the start, separate the noun from the phrase beginning with of. What does that phrase tell you about the noun before it?
- Hint 2
Set aside the words between the dashes and read to the period. Does the sentence already have a complete main verb?
- Hint 3
Shorten the subject to it or they. Which pronoun fits the thing this sentence is about?
Step-by-step
Find the subject, then complete its verb
Step 1Find what the sentence is about
Start with A collection of hand-painted shop signs: what is the sentence about? The phrase beginning with of tells us what the collection contains, so the collection is the subject, the thing the sentence is about. We'll need a verb for that subject, not for the signs inside it.
- Step 2
Check for a main verb
Set aside assembled over three decades by local historian Lena Ortiz between the dashes and read to the period. Does the collection already have a main verb, the verb that says what it does or is? The earlier words only describe the signs or collection, and donated to the museum in 2022. needs a helper here. So the blank must complete the main verb.
- Step 3
Match the helper to the collection
A collection is one thing, even though it holds many signs, so its helper verb must be singular. The forms were and have been are plural, while being can't be a main verb without another helper. Was gives us the singular helper, giving us a collection was donated. Choice A.