Standard English ConventionsVery hardAgreement with a gerund-phrase subject
Standard English Conventions practice question
Reading the assigned chapters before each class ____ students to take part more fully in the discussion.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A. enablesCorrect
- B. enable
- C. enabling
- D. have enabled
Answer: A. enables
The subject is the whole phrase 'Reading the assigned chapters before each class', and a phrase like that — an activity — counts as one singular thing. So the verb is the singular 'enables'.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. enable
- 'enable' is plural. It looks tempting because 'chapters' and 'students' are nearby, but the subject is the single activity of reading.
- C. enabling
- 'enabling' isn't a finite verb, so the sentence would have no main verb at all.
- D. have enabled
- 'have enabled' is plural. The subject is one activity, so it needs a singular verb — and the present tense 'enables' matches 'before each class'.
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