Question 82·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Many myths persisted in the ancient world; among them ______ that the Earth stood fixed at the center of the universe.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-structure and subject–verb agreement questions, first mark any major punctuation like semicolons or periods and make sure each side is a complete clause (has a subject and a finite verb). Then locate the true subject (often hidden inside a longer phrase), decide if it is singular or plural, and eliminate any choices whose verb does not match in number or that turn the clause into a fragment. Finally, check that the word order is natural for English, especially after introductory phrases like "among them" or "there."
Hints
Look at the punctuation
A semicolon must separate two complete sentences. Ask yourself: after inserting the answer choice, does the part starting with "among them" stand alone as a complete sentence with a subject and a main verb?
Find the subject of the second part
Ignore the blank and read from the word "that": which noun does this "that" phrase describe? Is that noun singular or plural, and what kind of verb (singular or plural) should go with it?
Notice word order after "among them"
Think about how sentences like "Among them ___ three students" are usually structured. Does the verb typically come before or after the noun that names who or what is among them?
Step-by-step Explanation
Check what must follow the semicolon
A semicolon must be followed by a full independent clause (a complete sentence with a subject and a finite verb). The second part of the sentence is:
"among them ______ that the Earth stood fixed at the center of the universe."
Whatever goes in the blank must help this become a complete sentence with both a subject and a main verb.
Identify the subject of the second clause
Look at the words after the blank: "the belief that the Earth stood fixed at the center of the universe."
That whole phrase is one noun phrase whose head noun is belief, which is singular. That means the main verb that goes with this subject must also be singular and in the past tense to match the rest of the sentence.
Understand the pattern after "among them"
In English, after phrases like "among them," the verb often comes before the subject, especially in written style: for example, "Among them was a famous poet" or "Among them were many students."
So we want a structure like:
"Many myths persisted in the ancient world; among them [verb] the belief that the Earth stood fixed at the center of the universe."
The blank must supply a singular past-tense verb that can come right after "among them" and before the subject "the belief."
Test each answer choice for agreement and sentence completeness
Plug each choice into the sentence:
- A) "Many myths persisted in the ancient world; among them was the belief that the Earth stood fixed at the center of the universe." This forms a complete independent clause, uses the inverted order "was" (verb) before "the belief" (singular subject), and the singular verb matches the singular subject.
- B) "were the belief" uses a plural verb with a singular subject.
- C) "the belief were" puts the subject before the verb in an awkward way after "among them" and still uses a plural verb with a singular subject.
- D) "being the belief" does not give a finite verb and makes the second part a fragment, not a complete clause.
Therefore, the correct answer is A) was the belief.