In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank. Culture is (1)_______, understanding, and protecting, like the cultivation of a garden, not the destruction or eradication of its roots. Understanding the roots and seeds, taking much care and providing instructed nourishment (2)_______ important for good gardening. Culture also is similar; understanding its acquaintance (3)______ literature and art and careful protection are required. Culture is the way of life of a particular society in which a group of people live together in one place. The society’s culture is visible in its literature, arts, social system, language and religion. It is a combination of traditions, customs, institutions, food habits, manners, morals, thoughts, tastes, views and beliefs. Usually, families (4)______ culture to the younger generations. As family system is becoming weak, schools, colleges and universities should take up this responsibility as education should promote potential values of its culture. The role of universities (5)_______ only to issue course completed certificates.
Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 2.
- (a)was
- (b)were
- (c)are
- (d)is
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The subject is a compound of three gerund phrases joined by and: Understanding the roots and seeds, taking much care and providing instructed nourishment.
Rule: two or more subjects joined by and take a plural verb. That leaves are and were.
Tense settles it. The passage runs in the present around this blank — Culture is, and later are required — so the present plural are is the fit. That is option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)was — was is singular and past. The subject is a compound of three phrases, and nothing in the passage shifts the time frame backwards.
- (b)were — were gets the number right but the tense wrong. The paragraph around the blank is written in the present throughout.
- (d)is — is is present but singular. Three gerund phrases joined by and make a plural subject, so the singular verb cannot agree with it.
Concept
A gerund phrase used alone as a subject is singular: Understanding the roots takes time.
Join two or more of them with and, though, and the subject becomes plural, exactly as with ordinary nouns. Reading and writing are taught early.
The blank therefore tests two things at once — the number of a subject that runs to sixteen words, and the tense the surrounding passage has already fixed.
The gap between the subject and the verb is what makes the item hard. Nourishment, the word immediately before the blank, is singular, and a reader who agrees the verb with the nearest noun is walked straight into is.
Key facts
- A single gerund phrase as subject is singular: Understanding the roots takes time.
- Two or more subjects joined by and normally take a plural verb.
- A cloze blank does not usually change the time frame of the passage, so the surrounding tense decides between are and were.
Study next
Common traps
- Agreeing the verb with nourishment, the noun nearest the blank, instead of with the whole compound subject
- Choosing were because the sentence sounds formal, without checking that the passage stays in the present
An agreement blank in a cloze passage prints was, were, is and are together, so the item asks for two decisions in one — number and tense.
The same pairing is keyed at 18 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.21 (was) and 19 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.22 (has).
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.