The First Folio, published in 1623, is the first collection of William Shakespeare's plays. The collection ________ 18 plays that...

Sentence Structure

• The First Folio,
• published in 1623,
• is the first collection of William Shakespeare's plays.
• The collection [?] 18 plays
  • that might otherwise have been lost,
    • such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

The first sentence tells us:

• 'The First Folio, published in 1623, is the first collection of William Shakespeare's plays.'
  • The First Folio is a book collection
  • It was published in 1623
  • It's the first time Shakespeare's plays were gathered together

Now the second sentence begins:

• 'The collection _____ 18 plays...'

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at our choices:

• A: "to be including"
• B: "including"
• C: "to include"
• D: "includes"

Now here's the key question: What does this sentence need?

• We have a subject: "The collection"
• After the subject, we need the main verb - the word that tells us what the collection DOES or what's TRUE about it

Let's test what we need:

• "The collection to be including..." - This doesn't make a complete sentence. "To be including" can't act as the main verb.
• "The collection including..." - "Including" here would just be a describing word, not the main verb doing the work of the sentence.
• "The collection to include..." - Again, "to include" is not a main verb form that can complete the sentence.
• "The collection includes..." - "Includes" is a proper main verb that tells us what the collection does!

So we need: includes - this is the main verb that works with the subject "The collection."

Now let's finish reading the sentence to get the complete picture:

• 'The collection includes 18 plays that might otherwise have been lost, such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth.'
  • The collection contains 18 plays
  • Without this collection, these plays might have been lost forever
  • Examples: Julius Caesar and Macbeth

What do we notice about the structure here?

• The sentence has a clear subject ("The collection") that needs a main verb to express what it does
• Only a finite verb - one that can serve as the main action of the sentence - works here
• "Includes" is that finite verb, matching the singular subject "The collection"

The correct answer is D: includes

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Finite Verbs as Sentence Essentials

Every complete sentence needs a finite verb (called the main verb or predicate in grammar terms) - a verb form that can serve as the primary action or state of the sentence and agrees with the subject. Infinitives (to + verb) and participles (-ing or -ed forms used alone) cannot serve as the main verb.

The Pattern:

• Fragment (no finite verb): The company to expand operations
  • "to expand" is an infinitive - cannot be the main verb
• Complete sentence (with finite verb): The company expands operations
  • "expands" is a finite verb - serves as main verb
• Fragment (no finite verb): The report including new data
  • "including" is a participle - cannot be the main verb alone
• Complete sentence (with finite verb): The report includes new data
  • "includes" is a finite verb - serves as main verb

In this question:

• Subject: "The collection"
• Needed: A finite verb that tells what the collection does
• Answer: "includes" - a finite verb in present tense, third person singular
• Why it works: Provides the essential main verb the sentence requires and agrees with the singular subject