Question 42·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
After lying dormant for decades, seeds of the desert poppy burst into bloom, painting the valley in bright orange hues; encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains, _____
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-completion questions that test modifiers and sentence structure, first locate any introductory phrase (like "Encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains") and identify what it should logically and grammatically modify. Then check each answer choice by plugging it into the sentence and asking: (1) Does the modifier clearly describe the noun right after it? (2) Does the meaning stay consistent with the rest of the sentence? (3) Is the wording natural and concise? Quickly eliminate choices with dangling modifiers (modifier not clearly attached) or with meanings that don’t fit the context, then choose the remaining option that is both logical and idiomatic.
Hints
Check what comes after the semicolon
The semicolon means the part after it must be a complete sentence closely related to the first part. Look at the phrase after the semicolon and before the blank: "encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains, _____." What must follow to make a full, clear idea?
Match the modifier to a logical subject
Ask yourself: who or what could realistically be "encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains" in the context of desert poppy seeds and blooming? Focus on the noun immediately after that phrase in each answer choice.
Watch out for awkward or illogical meanings
Some options may be grammatically possible but create strange meanings (for example, the rains "encouraging" something that doesn’t make sense). Others may be wordy or unidiomatic. Eliminate any answer that feels unnatural or shifts the focus away from the seeds’ behavior.
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence frame
Read the whole sentence with the blank:
"After lying dormant for decades, seeds of the desert poppy burst into bloom, painting the valley in bright orange hues; encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains, _____"
The part after the semicolon must form a complete, clear clause that continues the idea of what is happening with the seeds or the blooming.
Identify what the modifier should describe
The phrase "encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains" is a modifier that comes right before the blank.
By normal English rules, this phrase should logically describe the subject that comes right after the comma. Ask: Who or what was actually encouraged by the heavy winter rains? Most naturally, it would be the seeds or their blooming/germinating, not tourists or a landscape.
Test each option for logical subject of “encouraged”
Plug in each answer mentally:
- If you pick an option about "record numbers of germination," "thousands of curious tourists," or "a vivid landscape," you are saying those things were "encouraged by unusually heavy winter rains."
- Check whether it makes sense to say that those nouns were encouraged by the rains and whether that keeps the focus on the seeds.
Eliminate any choice where the rains are illogically encouraging tourists or landscapes, or where the phrase is awkward and unclear.
Choose the option with a clear, logical subject and natural wording
The best completion is the one where the subject right after the modifier is the seeds and the verb clearly states what happened to them in response to the rains. That is:
"the seeds germinated in record numbers."