SAT OwlQuestion bank / Form, Structure, and Sense
Ada Lovelace's notes on Charles Babbage's proposed Analytical Engine, published in 1843, ______ a step-by-step method for calculating a series of numbers that many historians consider the first computer program.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
include
includes
including
to include
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The subject is "notes," which is plural, and the sentence needs a main verb. The plural present-tense verb "include" agrees with "notes." "Including" and "to include" are not finite verbs and would leave the sentence without a main verb.
Choice B agrees with "Engine" or "Lovelace," but the subject is the plural noun "notes."
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