Question 64·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
In a recent address to the United Nations, climate scientist Dr. Renata Miles argued that the latest data on ocean acidity, along with the accelerated loss of Arctic ice, ______ an urgent need for coordinated international action.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For Standard English verb-agreement questions, first isolate the clause around the blank and identify the core subject, mentally crossing out prepositional phrases and add-on phrases like "along with," "together with," or "as well as." Decide whether that subject is singular or plural, then choose the verb form that matches in number and fits the tense/aspect implied by the context (simple present for general truths, simple past for finished past actions, etc.). Finally, quickly eliminate any options that add unnecessary helping verbs or change the meaning or time frame of the sentence.
Hints
Locate the subject of the blank
Within the part of the sentence starting with "that," what words come before the blank and act as the subject of the verb you must choose?
Handle the interrupting phrase correctly
How does the phrase "along with the accelerated loss of Arctic ice" function in the sentence? Does it change the subject’s number, or is it just extra information?
Check number and tense
In formal scientific writing, should "data" usually be treated as singular or plural? Given that Dr. Miles "argued" this in a recent address, should the verb in the blank be simple present, a continuous form, or a perfect form?
Compare the remaining verb forms
Once you decide you need a simple-present verb that agrees with the subject, which answer choices are in the simple present, and among those, which one matches a plural subject?
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the clause and the subject the blank belongs to
Strip the sentence down to its core around the blank:
"Dr. Renata Miles argued that the latest data on ocean acidity, along with the accelerated loss of Arctic ice, ____ an urgent need for coordinated international action."
Inside the "that" clause, everything before the blank is the subject of the verb you must choose: "the latest data on ocean acidity, along with the accelerated loss of Arctic ice."
Ignore the interrupting phrase and identify the true subject
The phrase "along with the accelerated loss of Arctic ice" is extra information. Phrases like "along with," "together with," and "as well as" do not make a compound subject.
The core grammatical subject is "the latest data". The rest just adds detail and does not affect whether the verb is singular or plural.
Decide on number (singular/plural) and tense
In formal, scientific English (like a United Nations address), "data" is treated as a plural noun, so it takes a plural verb.
Also, within a "that" clause following a past-tense reporting verb like "argued," we usually use the simple present to express a current or general truth: the evidence now shows something. So we want a plural simple-present verb with no extra helping verb such as "is" or "has."
This means forms with helpers like "is underscoring" and "has underscored" do not fit the tense/aspect we need.
Match the correct verb form to the subject
A plural subject in the simple present takes the base form of the verb (no -s), while a singular subject adds -s.
- One person: "The scientist underscores the need."
- More than one thing: "The data underscore the need."
Here, the plural subject "data" calls for the base verb form "underscore", so the correct choice is A) underscore.