In today's rapidly evolving pharmaceutical industry, companies must constantly adapt to remain competitive. Market research indicates that leading fir...

Sentence Structure

Sentence 1:

• In today's rapidly evolving pharmaceutical industry,
• companies must constantly adapt to remain competitive.

Sentence 2:

• Market research indicates
  • that leading firms [?] artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate drug discovery and reduce development costs.

[?] = leverage / leveraged / will leverage / had leveraged

Understanding the Meaning

The passage starts by setting the scene:

• "In today's rapidly evolving pharmaceutical industry"
  • We're talking about the pharmaceutical industry RIGHT NOW, in the present
  • The word "today's" is a clear signal that we're discussing the current situation

• "companies must constantly adapt to remain competitive"
  • Companies need to keep changing to stay competitive
  • This is an ongoing, present reality

Now the second sentence:

• "Market research indicates..."
  • This is present tense - it's telling us what market research shows NOW, currently
  • "Indicates" means the research is revealing or demonstrating something

Now here's where we need to fill in the blank:

• "that leading firms ______ artificial intelligence and machine learning"

Let's look at our choices:

• We're deciding between different tenses of the verb "leverage" (which means to use or employ something strategically):
  • leverage (present tense)
  • leveraged (past tense)
  • will leverage (future tense)
  • had leveraged (past perfect tense)

What do we need here? Let's think about what we've established:

• The context is "today's" pharmaceutical industry - that's PRESENT time
• "Market research indicates" - that's PRESENT tense, showing what research reveals now
• When research "indicates" something, it's reporting on what's happening currently

So we need present tense to match the current time frame: leverage

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

• "to accelerate drug discovery and reduce development costs"
  • This explains WHY firms are leveraging AI and machine learning
  • They're using these technologies to speed up drug discovery and lower costs

The complete meaning:

• In today's pharmaceutical industry, companies must keep adapting to stay competitive
• Current market research shows that leading firms are using AI and machine learning to speed up drug discovery and reduce costs

Grammar Concept Applied

Matching Verb Tense to Time Context

When a sentence establishes a clear time frame - past, present, or future - your verbs should match that time frame unless there's a logical reason to shift. Here's how this works:

The Pattern:

1. Time markers signal the frame:
   • "today's pharmaceutical industry" = PRESENT time marker
   • "yesterday's events" = PAST time marker
   • "next year's goals" = FUTURE time marker
2. Main verb sets the tense:
   • "Market research indicates" = PRESENT tense reporting verb
   • When a present tense reporting verb (indicates, shows, reveals, demonstrates) introduces what someone says/shows, the following clause typically uses present tense for current facts
3. Subordinate verbs align with the frame:
   • "that leading firms leverage..." = PRESENT tense matches the present context

Application to this question:

• Time context: "today's" (present) + "indicates" (present tense reporting verb)
• What research indicates: what firms ARE DOING currently
• Required tense: present ("leverage")

Another example:

• "Yesterday's report showed that companies were investing heavily in research."
• Time context: "Yesterday's" (past) + "showed" (past tense)
• Required tense: past ("were investing")