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Standard English Conventions / Form, Structure, and Sense Difficulty: Easy

Richard Spikes was a prolific African American inventor known for his contributions to automotive engineering. Between 1907 and 1946, he patented many inventions, blank an automobile turn signal, a safety brake, and—most famously—the first automatic gearshift.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

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Explanation

Choice C is the best answer. The convention being tested is the use of nonfinite verb forms within a sentence. The nonfinite present participle "including" is correctly used to form a participial phrase that supplements the main clause "he patented many inventions," listing several of Spikes’s patented inventions.

Choice A is incorrect because the finite past tense verb "included" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions." Choice B is incorrect because the finite present tense verb "includes" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions." Choice D is incorrect because the finite future tense verb "will include" can’t be used in this way to supplement the main clause "he patented many inventions."