SAT Reading & Writing · Form, Structure, and Sense
The council of elders, despite having no formal legal authority in the modern government, ______ still consulted on major community…
The council of elders, despite having no formal legal authority in the modern government, ______ still consulted on major community decisions.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: is
"The council of elders" is treated as a single collective body here, taking the singular verb *is*, and "despite having no formal legal authority in the modern government" is a parenthetical phrase that doesn't change the number of the true subject. *Are* and *were* are both plural, incorrectly suggesting the council should be treated as separate individual actors instead of the single body the sentence describes. *Have been* is also plural and additionally shifts to present perfect without any signal in the sentence calling for that tense.
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