Question 9·Hard·Form, Structure, and Sense
Civil engineer Emily Warren Roebling’s on-site _____ vital to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge, were, for decades, omitted from formal accounts of the project.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation/structure items, strip the sentence to its core (subject + main verb) first. Then identify any nonessential descriptive phrases and ensure they are set off with commas on both sides. Avoid choices that add extra main verbs or place commas directly between a subject and its verb.
Hints
Find the main verb
Cover up the phrase "vital to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge" and read the sentence without it. What is the main verb that goes with "on-site directives"?
Check for extra verbs
Ask yourself: if I put a verb in the blank, will the subject "directives" end up having more than one main verb in the same clause?
Think about commas and extra information
The phrase "vital to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge" is extra description. How are such nonessential descriptive phrases usually separated from the rest of the sentence?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the core clause
Ignore the descriptive phrase and the interrupter: "Civil engineer Emily Warren Roebling’s on-site directives … were omitted from formal accounts of the project." The subject is "directives" and its main verb is "were omitted."
Recognize the nonessential phrase
"Vital to the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge" is extra, descriptive information about "directives" and should be set off with commas on both sides. Therefore, the text needs a comma directly after "directives" to begin that nonessential phrase.
Test the choices
- "directives were" adds an extra main verb before the actual predicate ("were omitted").
- "directives, were" incorrectly places a comma between a subject and its verb and still creates two main verbs.
- "directives had been" introduces an unnecessary past perfect verb and creates two main verbs.
- "directives," correctly begins the nonessential phrase and preserves the main clause.
Therefore, the correct choice is "directives,".