Question 38·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
To reconstruct historical conditions in a mountain watershed, ecologists sometimes consult the journals of early twentieth-century park rangers, whose daily entries ______ not only the dates when alpine lakes froze and thawed but also subtle shifts in water clarity provide evidence unavailable in the standardized weather records kept in the valley below.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
In a long sentence, isolate the clause containing the blank and identify its subject and main verb. If a later verb already completes the clause, the blank often requires a participle that introduces a modifying phrase rather than another finite verb. Ignore intervening details until the core structure is clear.
Hints
Locate the relative clause
Focus on the part of the sentence beginning with “whose daily entries.”
Find the predicate
Determine which later verb expresses what the daily entries do for ecologists.
Check the sentence structure
Once the clause's main verb is identified, decide whether the blank needs another main verb or a modifier.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the subject and main verb
In the relative clause, “daily entries” is the subject, and “provide” is its main verb: the entries “provide evidence.”
Determine the blank's function
Because the clause already has the main verb “provide,” the blank cannot contain another finite verb without a conjunction. It must begin a modifying phrase describing what the entries contain.
Choose the participle
“Recording” functions as a participle and correctly modifies “daily entries”: the entries recording the dates and shifts provide evidence.