16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsHardParallelism in a comparison with 'rather than'

Standard English Conventions practice question

The council chose to widen the footpath rather than ____ the road.

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

  1. A. narrowCorrect
  2. B. narrowing
  3. C. to be narrowing
  4. D. narrowed

Answer: A. narrow

'Chose to widen … rather than narrow': parallel base forms after 'to'.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. narrowing
'Narrowing' breaks the parallel with 'widen'.
C. to be narrowing
'To be narrowing' is not parallel and is unidiomatic.
D. narrowed
'Narrowed' is past tense, not an infinitive.

More Standard English Conventions questions

Not affiliated with the College Board. SAT is a trademark of the College Board.