Question 31·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
To promote sustainable practices, the city launched several initiatives, ______ a bike-sharing program, additional recycling stations, and incentives for installing rooftop gardens.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For this type of Standard English question, first identify the function of the blank: Is it introducing examples, a cause, a contrast, or a comparison? Then read the sentence with each option and quickly eliminate any that don’t match that function or create ungrammatical structures (wrong patterns like requiring a verb but followed by nouns). Favor the option that both clearly expresses the intended relationship (here, introducing examples) and sounds natural and formal in written English.
Hints
Focus on the words after the blank
Look at what comes right after the blank: are those words giving a reason, a comparison, or examples of "initiatives"?
Think about common phrase patterns
One option is typically followed by "to" and a verb (for example, "to reduce pollution"), not by a list of nouns. Eliminate any option that doesn't usually come right before a list of things.
Examples vs. comparisons
Decide whether the sentence is comparing initiatives to other things or simply listing specific initiatives the city launched. Then choose the option that best fits that purpose in a formal sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand what the blank is doing
Read the full sentence:
"To promote sustainable practices, the city launched several initiatives, ______ a bike-sharing program, additional recycling stations, and incentives for installing rooftop gardens."
The blank comes right before a list of specific examples of the "initiatives" the city launched.
Identify the needed relationship
Because the words after the blank are specific items, the missing phrase must introduce examples of the "initiatives"—not a purpose, not a comparison, and not just any connector. We need a phrase that naturally means "for example" or "for instance" when followed by nouns.
Test the options for meaning and grammar
Try each option in the sentence and think about both meaning and grammar:
- "initiatives, so as a bike-sharing program" – "so as" usually appears as "so as to" + verb ("so as to reduce waste"), and it does not correctly introduce nouns as examples.
- "initiatives, as a bike-sharing program" – "as" alone here sounds incomplete and awkward; in Standard English we don’t normally use "as" by itself to introduce example nouns after a comma.
- "initiatives, [correct choice] a bike-sharing program" – this should smoothly introduce the specific initiatives as examples.
- "initiatives, like a bike-sharing program" – "like" usually expresses similarity ("similar to"), not a clear list of actual examples, and is less precise and less formal in this construction.
Choose the phrase that clearly introduces examples
The only option that is standard, formal, and clearly used to introduce examples after a comma is "such as", so the correct answer is C) such as.