Question

John H. Haaren - The grammatical errors in this passage are intentional.

At last, the Venetians left (19)friends, went to the Black Sea and took ship for Venice. They (20) away so long and were so much changed in appearance that none of their relations and old friends knew them when they arrived in Venice. As they were dressed in Tatar costume and sometimes spoke the Chinese language to one another, they found (21) hard to convince people that they were members of the Polo family. At length, in order to show that they were the men that they declared (22) to be, they gave a dinner to all their relations and old friends. When the guests arrived, they were greeted by the travelers, arrayed in gorgeous Chinese robes of crimson satin. After the first course, they appeared in crimson damask; after the second, they changed (23) costumes to crimson velvet; while at the end of the dinner, they appeared in the usual garb of wealthy Venetians. ‘Now, my friends,’ said Marco, ‘I (24) you something that will please you.’ He then brought into the room the rough Tatar coats which he and his father and uncle had worn when they reached Venice. Cutting open the seams, he took ¬(25) inside the lining packets filled with rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. It was the (26) collection of jewels ever seen in Venice. The guests were now persuaded that their hosts were indeed what (27) claimed to be.

Which numbered section would best replace (20) in the passage to maintain grammatical accuracy?
A. Lived
B. Been
C. Have
D. Were

Answer 1

The grammatically correct option to replace (20) in the passage is 'B. Been', as it completes the past perfect tense 'had been' necessary for the context.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct option to maintain grammatical accuracy in the passage replacing (20) is 'had been'. The passage is discussing an event in the past that was complete before another event; this is often conveyed by the past perfect tense, which is formed with 'had' + the past participle of the verb. Therefore, the correct option would be 'B. Been', as it would correctly complete the past perfect tense 'had been' in the sentence.

The Venetians 'had been' away so long and were so much changed in appearance that none of their relations and old friends knew them when they arrived in Venice. The use of the past perfect tense here is needed to indicate that their long absence was complete by the time they returned to Venice.