Question 248·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
While reviewing hundreds of photographs for the museum's upcoming exhibit, ______ that the lighting techniques had shifted dramatically over time.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-completion questions testing Standard English conventions, first read the entire sentence and identify what is missing: often a clear subject, a main verb, or a logical connection to an introductory phrase. Pay special attention to modifiers at the beginning (like "While reviewing...") and make sure the subject that follows the comma is the one performing that action. Then plug in each option and quickly eliminate choices that create sentence fragments, dangling modifiers, illogical subjects, or wordy/awkward phrasing, and choose the simplest option that yields a clear, complete, and logical sentence.
Hints
Look at what comes after the comma
Focus on the part of the sentence after the comma: it needs to form a complete main clause with a clear subject and verb.
Match the modifier to a logical subject
Ask yourself: who was actually "reviewing hundreds of photographs"? The subject of the main clause right after the comma must be that person or thing.
Avoid vague or awkward constructions
Be careful with options that start with a vague subject like "it" or that use passive, awkward phrases like "were noticed" or "occurred" instead of a straightforward active verb.
Read each option in the full sentence
Insert each choice into the blank and read the full sentence out loud in your head. Eliminate any version that sounds wordy, illogical, or ungrammatical.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence frame
Read the sentence with the blank:
"While reviewing hundreds of photographs for the museum's upcoming exhibit, ______ that the lighting techniques had shifted dramatically over time."
We have an introductory phrase starting with "While reviewing" and then the main clause starting at the blank.
Identify what the sentence still needs
The phrase "While reviewing hundreds of photographs..." describes who was doing the reviewing. After the comma, the main clause must give:
- A clear subject (who was reviewing and who noticed), and
- A finite verb (what that subject did),
so the whole thing becomes one complete, logical sentence.
Check each choice for logical subject and clear structure
Now mentally insert each option into the sentence and ask two questions:
- Who is the grammatical subject right after the comma? That subject must be the one doing the reviewing.
- Is the structure clear, active, and idiomatic (natural English)? Avoid vague "it" subjects, passive constructions where the wrong thing seems to be doing the action, and awkward noun forms like "noticing occurred."
Eliminate any choice where:
- The subject after the comma is not the person who could logically be "reviewing" the photographs, or
- The sentence becomes wordy, awkward, or ungrammatical.
Choose the only option that fits grammatically and logically
When you apply those tests:
- Choice A ("it was the curator who noticed") makes "it" the grammatical subject, so the introductory phrase would be describing "it" reviewing the photographs, which is illogical and creates a dangling modifier. It is also wordier than necessary.
- Choice C ("dramatic shifts in lighting were noticed") makes "dramatic shifts in lighting" the subject, which suggests the shifts were reviewing the photographs themselves—another dangling, illogical construction in the passive voice.
- Choice D ("noticing occurred by the curator") is ungrammatical and very awkward; "noticing occurred" is not a natural way to express this idea.
The only choice that provides a clear human subject who could logically be reviewing the photographs, in a simple active-voice clause, is B) "the curator noticed".