Multiple newspapers ________ the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC, including El Tiempo Latino and Washington Hispanic.

Sentence Structure

• Multiple newspapers ______ the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC,
• including El Tiempo Latino and Washington Hispanic.

Breaking this down:

• Multiple newspapers
  • [?] the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC,
    • including El Tiempo Latino and Washington Hispanic

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

"Multiple newspapers..."

Okay, so we're talking about more than one newspaper - that's our subject.

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

• 'Multiple newspapers ______ the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC'

Let's look at our choices:

1. serve (a complete verb form)
2. having served (a participle - an -ing form with "having")
3. to serve (an infinitive - "to" + verb)
4. serving (a participle - an -ing form alone)

What do we need here?

• We have a subject: "Multiple newspapers"
• But we don't have a main action verb yet
• Every sentence needs a main verb to be complete
• Looking at the rest: "the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC"
  • This gives us who/what receives the action

So we need a main verb - one that can stand as the complete action of the sentence.

• "Serve" is a complete verb form that works with the plural subject "Multiple newspapers"
• The other choices are verb forms that can't stand alone as the main verb:
  • "having served" and "serving" are participles - they need helping verbs
  • "to serve" is an infinitive - it can't be the main verb on its own

So we need: serve (Choice A)

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

• "including El Tiempo Latino and Washington Hispanic"
  • This gives us examples of the newspapers being discussed

The complete meaning:

• Multiple newspapers provide service to the Spanish-speaking population of Washington, DC, and examples include El Tiempo Latino and Washington Hispanic.

Grammar Concept Applied

Complete Sentences Need Finite Verbs

Every complete sentence must have a finite verb - a main verb form that can stand as the predicate and agrees with the subject. Not all verb forms can do this job:

Finite verbs (can be main verbs):

• Simple present: The newspapers serve the community
• Simple past: The newspapers served the community
• These agree with the subject and express complete actions

Non-finite verbs (cannot be main verbs alone):

• Infinitives: "to serve" - cannot be the main verb
  • Example: The newspapers to serve... (Fragment!)
  • Correct: The newspapers need to serve...
• Participles: "serving," "having served" - cannot be the main verb alone
  • Example: The newspapers serving... (Fragment!)
  • Correct: The newspapers are serving...

In this question:

• Subject: "Multiple newspapers" (plural)
• Need: A finite verb that agrees with the plural subject
• Answer: "serve" - the simple present plural form that creates a complete sentence