For sentences containing embedded reporting phrases such as “researchers claim” or “a historian argues,” temporarily remove that phrase. Then identify the subject and verb of the surrounding clause. This prevents a nearby noun inside the reporting phrase from misleading you about verb form or subject-verb agreement.
Hints
- Hint 1
Find the antecedent
Determine which noun the relative pronoun “that” refers to.
- Hint 2
Bracket the interruption
Temporarily remove “historian Amara Okafor argues” and read the resulting relative clause.
- Hint 3
Check the required verb form
Decide whether the blank needs a finite verb, a participle, or an infinitive, and then check agreement with the clause’s subject.
Step-by-step
- Step 1
Identify the relevant clause
Within the information set off by dashes, the relative clause begins with “marks that.” The relative pronoun “that” refers to “marks.”
- Step 2
Set aside the reporting clause
The words “historian Amara Okafor argues” form an interrupting reporting clause. They do not make “historian Amara Okafor” the subject of the verb in the blank.
- Step 3
Complete the relative clause
The underlying structure is “marks that represent not routine abbreviations . . . but an indexing system.” Because “marks” is plural and the clause needs a finite verb, “represent” is correct.