The manuscripts in the archive, each a unique testament to medieval scholarship, ______ evidence of the intellectual exchange between European...

SOLUTION

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• The manuscripts in the archive,
• each a unique testament to medieval scholarship,
• (?) evidence of the intellectual exchange
  • between European monasteries
  • during the twelfth century.
• Where (?):
  • provides
  • has provided
  • is providing
  • provide

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

'The manuscripts in the archive'

• This is what the sentence is about –
  • some manuscripts that are stored in an archive.
• 'The manuscripts' is our main subject, and it's plural (we're talking about multiple manuscripts).

Then we get some additional information set off by commas:

• 'each a unique testament to medieval scholarship'
• This phrase is giving us more detail about these manuscripts –
  • each one is a unique testament (a piece of evidence or proof) of medieval scholarship.
• Notice this is enclosed by commas –
  • it's extra descriptive information sitting between our subject and what comes next.

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

• 'The manuscripts... ______ evidence of the intellectual exchange'

Let's look at our choices. They're all verb forms, but they differ in number:

• provides, has provided, is providing (all singular)
• provide (plural)

What do we need here?

• Our subject is 'The manuscripts' – that's plural.
• The phrase 'each a unique testament to medieval scholarship' is just extra information set off by commas –
  • it's not our main subject.
• The verb needs to agree with 'The manuscripts.'

So we need the plural verb: provide.

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

• 'provide evidence of the intellectual exchange between European monasteries during the twelfth century'

The complete meaning is:

• These manuscripts in the archive provide evidence (they serve as proof) of how European monasteries exchanged ideas during the twelfth century.
• Each manuscript is individually unique, but together they provide this evidence.

What do we notice about the structure here?

• The main subject 'The manuscripts' is plural.
• There's a descriptive phrase between the subject and verb that might be distracting –
  • it contains the word 'each,' which is singular.
• But that phrase is set off by commas –
  • it's additional information, not the subject.
• The verb must agree with the actual subject, not words in the intervening phrase.

The correct answer is D: provide.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Subject-Verb Agreement with Intervening Descriptive Phrases

When a descriptive phrase appears between the subject and verb (especially when set off by commas), you need to identify the true subject and make sure the verb agrees with it in number. Don't be distracted by nouns that appear in the intervening phrase.

The Pattern:

Example 1:

• The students in the classroom are studying
  • Subject: "The students" (plural)
  • Intervening phrase: "in the classroom"
  • Verb: "are" (plural) – matches "students"

Example 2:

• The book, along with several articles, was on the desk
  • Subject: "The book" (singular)
  • Intervening phrase: "along with several articles"
  • Verb: "was" (singular) – matches "book," not "articles"

Example 3:

• The team members, each with unique skills, contribute to the project
  • Subject: "The team members" (plural)
  • Intervening phrase: "each with unique skills" (contains singular "each")
  • Verb: "contribute" (plural) – matches "team members," not "each"

In our question:

• Subject: "The manuscripts" (plural)
• Intervening phrase: "each a unique testament to medieval scholarship" (contains singular "each")
• Verb: "provide" (plural) – correctly matches "The manuscripts"

The key is to mentally remove the intervening phrase and check: "The manuscripts _____ evidence" – you can hear that "provide" (plural) is correct.