Question 35·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Archaeologist Maria Sanchez _____ ancient shipwrecks off the coast of Spain for over a decade when she finally located the legendary vessel rumored to carry lost Roman artifacts.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For verb tense questions, first underline all the verbs and any time markers (like "for over a decade," "when," "finally"). Decide the timeline: which actions happened first, which were ongoing, and which happened later. Then choose the verb form that matches that timeline and keeps all verbs consistent with each other (for past narratives, avoid future or present-tense forms that break the sequence).
Hints
Check the tense of the second verb
Look at the verb in the phrase "when she finally located the legendary vessel." What tense is "located" in, and what does that tell you about when this event happened?
Think about the timeline of events
Did Maria’s exploring start before she found the ship, after she found it, or at the same time? How does the phrase "for over a decade" help you decide?
Match the tense to a long ongoing action before a past event
Which verb form is used in English to show something that was happening continuously for a period of time and was still in progress when another past event occurred?
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the key time clues
Look at the two parts of the sentence:
- Ongoing action: "Archaeologist Maria Sanchez _____ ancient shipwrecks off the coast of Spain for over a decade"
- Specific event in the past: "when she finally located the legendary vessel..."
The phrase "for over a decade" shows a long, continuous action. The word "finally" plus "located" points to a single, completed action at a specific time in the past.
Decide the time relationship between the actions
Ask: Did the exploring happen before, at the same time as, or after she located the vessel?
From the sentence, Maria was exploring for over a decade before and up until the moment she finally found the legendary ship. So we need a verb tense that shows:
- An action that started in the past
- Continued for a while
- Was still going on right up to another past event (the locating).
Eliminate verb tenses that don’t match this timeline
Now test each choice against that timeline:
- A) will explore – future tense; does not fit with the clearly past event "she finally located."
- B) has explored – present perfect; suggests a connection to the present, but the second clause is fixed in the past.
- D) is exploring – present progressive; describes something happening now, which conflicts with "she finally located" (past).
These three options are inconsistent with the past-time narrative and the idea that the exploration was ongoing before a past event.
Choose the tense that shows an ongoing action before a past event
The remaining choice uses the past perfect progressive, which is exactly for a continuous action that went on for some time and was happening right up until another past event. Therefore, the correct answer is C) had been exploring.