Question 85·Easy·Form, Structure, and Sense
Each summer, thousands of tourists _____ to the coastal town, eager to attend its renowned music festival.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For Standard English verb-form questions, first find the subject and decide if it is singular or plural. Then look for time clues (like "each summer," "usually," or "right now") to determine the correct tense. Check each option in the sentence to see which one: (1) matches the subject in number, (2) uses the appropriate tense, and (3) allows the sentence to stand as a complete, grammatically correct clause without extra helping words. Eliminate -ing forms and infinitives if the sentence clearly needs a simple main verb.
Hints
Use the time phrase at the beginning
Focus on the phrase "Each summer" at the start of the sentence. What verb tense is usually used to describe actions that happen regularly or habitually?
Check the subject’s number
Identify the subject of the sentence: is it singular or plural? Then think about how that affects the ending of the verb in the simple present tense.
Think about sentence completeness
Ask yourself: which option lets the blank function as the main verb of the sentence by itself, without needing extra helping words like "are" or "to" before it?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the subject and time clue
Look at the beginning of the sentence: "Each summer, thousands of tourists _____ to the coastal town...".
- The subject is "thousands of tourists," which is clearly plural.
- The phrase "Each summer" shows this is a repeated, habitual action, so we expect the simple present tense.
Decide what kind of verb form is needed
Because this is a complete sentence, the blank must be filled by a main verb that agrees with "thousands of tourists."
- It cannot be just an -ing form by itself (that would usually need a helping verb like "are").
- It cannot be an infinitive ("to" + verb) unless the whole structure of the sentence supported that.
- It needs to be a simple present tense verb that matches a plural subject.
Match subject-verb agreement
In the simple present tense:
- Singular third-person subjects (he, she, it, or a singular noun) usually take a verb ending in -s (like "comes").
- Plural subjects (they, we, or plural nouns like "tourists") take the base form of the verb without -s (like "come"). Since "thousands of tourists" is plural, the verb must be in the base form, not the -s form.
Eliminate choices that don’t fit the structure
Check each option in the sentence: "Each summer, thousands of tourists _____ to the coastal town..."
- "coming" is not a complete main verb here; we would need "are coming."
- "comes" is simple present but disagrees with the plural subject.
- "to come" is an infinitive and does not function as the main verb in this structure. The only choice that is a simple present tense main verb in the base form that agrees with the plural subject is "come".