Question Bank / Reading and Writing / Form, Structure, and Sense

Form, Structure, and Sense SAT question

Reading and Writing · Standard English Conventions · Hard · Answer it here, explanation included.

Author Madeline L’Engle, blank to create a suspenseful tone that draws the reader in, begins her novel A Wrinkle in Time with descriptions of “wraithlike shadows” and “the frenzied lashing of the wind.”

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

ExplanationShow

Choice D is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite present participle verb “looking” is correctly used to form a subordinate clause that describes the intent behind how L’Engle begins her novel.

Choice A is incorrect because the finite past tense verb “looked” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause. Choice B is incorrect because the finite present tense verb “looks” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause. Choice C is incorrect because the finite present progressive tense verb “is looking” can’t be used in this way to form a subordinate clause.

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