'He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man.' This...

Sentence Structure

• 'He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man.'
• This line is from Frederick Douglass's autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845).
• It's an example of antimetabole, a writing technique that [?] emphasis by repeating a statement in a reversed order.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start from the beginning:

We're given a quote from Frederick Douglass's autobiography:

• 'He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man.'

Then we learn:

• This line is an example of a literary technique called antimetabole.

The sentence continues with more detail about what antimetabole is:

• It's 'a writing technique that ______ emphasis by repeating a statement in a reversed order.'

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

• create (base/plural form)
• are creating (plural, ongoing action)
• have created (plural, completed action)
• creates (singular form)

So we're deciding on the verb form that fits here.

What do we notice about the structure?

The phrase is: 'a writing technique that ______ emphasis'

• 'That' is connecting back to what we just mentioned - 'a writing technique'
• So 'that' is standing in for 'a writing technique' (singular)
• The verb needs to match 'a writing technique' - which is singular

Also:

• We're describing what this technique does in general - what it's characteristic of antimetabole
• This calls for a simple present tense describing a general truth

So we need: creates - the singular present form that agrees with 'a writing technique.'

The complete meaning: This sentence is explaining that the Douglass quote is an example of antimetabole, which is defined as a writing technique that creates emphasis by repeating a statement in reversed order (like "man for place" becoming "place for man").

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Verbs Must Agree with What They're Connected To

When a verb comes after words like "that," "which," or "who," it needs to agree with whatever that connecting word refers back to (called the antecedent in grammar terms):

Pattern:

• Noun + connecting word + verb
• The verb must match the noun in number (singular or plural)

Examples:

• The student who studies regularly → "who" refers to "student" (singular), so "studies"
• The students who study regularly → "who" refers to "students" (plural), so "study"

In our question:

• "a writing technique that creates emphasis"
• "that" refers back to "a writing technique" (singular)
• Therefore, we need the singular form: "creates"
• Not "create," "are creating," or "have created" (all plural or non-agreeing forms)

This is especially important when there's distance between the noun and the verb - you need to trace back what the connecting word refers to and make sure the verb matches it.