Founded in Germany in 1919, the Bauhaus was a revolutionary art school that ______ modernist principles by combining fine arts...

Sentence Structure

• Founded in Germany in 1919,
  • the Bauhaus
    • was a revolutionary art school
      • that [?] modernist principles
        • by combining fine arts with practical crafts and industrial design.
• Where [?] represents what varies in the choices:
  • A. to champion
  • B. championed
  • C. championing
  • D. having championed

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

• 'Founded in Germany in 1919,'
  • This gives us background – when and where the Bauhaus was founded.
• 'the Bauhaus'
  • This is what we're talking about – our subject.
• 'was a revolutionary art school'
  • So the Bauhaus was a type of school, one that was revolutionary.

Now we come to: 'that ______ modernist principles'

• This phrase starting with 'that' is telling us more about this art school.
• It's describing what the school DID with modernist principles.

Here's where we need to fill in the blank. Let's look at our choices:

• We're deciding between different forms of the verb "champion"
• The blank comes after 'that' in a phrase that's describing the art school

What do we notice about the structure here?

• 'That ______ modernist principles' is a relative clause
  • It's giving us more information about the art school
  • 'That' refers back to the art school (the Bauhaus)
• Within this clause, we need a complete verb
  • The clause is telling us what action the school took
  • We're describing historical fact – what this school did back then

So we need a complete verb in the past tense: championed.

Now let's read the rest to see the complete picture:

• 'by combining fine arts with practical crafts and industrial design'
  • This tells us HOW the Bauhaus championed modernist principles
  • It combined different types of art and design together

The complete meaning: The Bauhaus was a revolutionary art school that promoted modernist principles by bringing together fine arts, crafts, and industrial design.

Grammar Concept Applied

Finite Verbs in Relative Clauses

When you have a relative clause (a clause that starts with words like "that," "which," or "who" and provides additional information about something), you need a finite verb – a complete verb form that shows tense and can function as the main verb of that clause.

Here's the pattern:

Relative pronoun + finite verb:

• The school that championed modernist principles... (checkmark)
• "that" = relative pronoun
• "championed" = finite verb (past tense)

What doesn't work:

• The school that to champion... (cross) (infinitive cannot be main verb)
• The school that championing... (cross) (participle alone cannot be main verb)
• The school that having championed... (cross) (perfect participle cannot be main verb of relative clause)

In this question:

• The relative clause "that _______ modernist principles" describes the art school
• "That" is the subject of the clause (referring to the Bauhaus)
• We need a finite verb to complete the clause: "championed"
• Since we're describing historical fact, past tense is appropriate