Question 168·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
A series of murals painted on the walls of the city’s flood-control tunnels, _____
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For form, structure, and sense questions that ask you to complete a sentence, first decide whether the text before the blank is a complete sentence. If it is not, the blank must supply a main clause (including a correctly agreeing verb) rather than extra description. Then quickly check agreement (singular/plural), and eliminate choices that create fragments or introduce a new independent clause without proper punctuation.
Hints
Find the true subject
Focus on the word that controls the verb: is the subject series or murals?
Look for a main verb
After the comma, the sentence still needs a verb that can complete the sentence on its own (like is or was).
Watch for sentence boundaries
Eliminate any choice that introduces a new independent clause without the punctuation needed to join it to what comes before.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the sentence starts with
The sentence begins with the noun phrase “A series of murals” (the subject), followed by extra descriptive information and a comma.
Check what the blank must supply
Because the text before the blank is not a complete sentence by itself, the blank must provide a main verb and complete the thought (not create a fragment or a run-on).
Verify agreement and sentence completeness
The head noun is series (singular), so the verb must be singular (is/was), and the completion must form one grammatical sentence rather than introducing a new independent clause without proper punctuation.
Select the option that produces a correct sentence
Only “originally intended as a temporary art project, is now maintained by volunteers who repair water damage each spring.” supplies a complete main clause and matches the singular subject with is.