The new central library in Portland was designed with floor-to-ceiling windows along its southern facade, _____ natural light throughout the...

Sentence Structure

• The new central library in Portland
  • was designed
    • with floor-to-ceiling windows
      • along its southern facade,
  • [?] natural light throughout the main reading spaces.

Where [?] could be: it maximizes / maximizing / maximizes / this will maximize

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

• 'The new central library in Portland was designed with floor-to-ceiling windows along its southern facade'
  • So we have a library in Portland
  • It was designed with really tall windows (floor-to-ceiling) on the southern side of the building

This is where we have the blank – after a comma, followed by 'natural light throughout the main reading spaces.'

Let's look at the choices:

• They all involve some form of 'maximize'
• A and D add pronouns (it, this) and make complete verb forms (it maximizes, this will maximize)
• C is just the verb alone (maximizes)
• B is the -ing form (maximizing)

To see what works here, let's understand what the complete sentence is telling us!

The sentence is describing the library design:

• First part: The library was designed with these big windows on the southern side
• Second part (after the comma): something about maximizing natural light

What's the relationship between these two parts?

• The windows are the design feature
• Maximizing natural light is what those windows DO – it's the result or effect of having those windows

What do we notice about the structure here?

• We already have a complete thought: 'The new central library in Portland was designed with floor-to-ceiling windows along its southern facade'
  • This could stand alone as a sentence
  • It has a subject (library) and a main verb (was designed)

• After the comma, we need something that adds information WITHOUT creating a whole new sentence
  • If we used 'it maximizes' or 'maximizes' or 'this will maximize,' we'd be starting a new complete thought
  • But we only have a comma – and a comma alone can't connect two complete sentences

• The -ing form 'maximizing' works differently:
  • It creates a describing phrase that tells us more about the windows
  • It explains the effect or purpose of the design
  • This is a common pattern: describe something, then add a comma and an -ing phrase to explain the result

So we need maximizing – it creates a descriptive phrase that explains what the windows accomplish, rather than starting a new sentence.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Using -ing Phrases to Describe Results or Effects

When you want to describe the result, effect, or consequence of something you just mentioned, you can use a comma followed by an -ing phrase (called a participial phrase in grammar terms). This adds information without creating a new sentence:

Pattern: [Complete sentence], [verb-ing form] + [additional details about the result]

Example 1:

• Without the addition: "The architect installed solar panels on the roof"
• With -ing phrase: "The architect installed solar panels on the roof, reducing energy costs by 40%"
  • Main action: installed solar panels
  • Result described by -ing phrase: reducing energy costs

Example 2:

• Without the addition: "The restaurant opened a patio section"
• With -ing phrase: "The restaurant opened a patio section, allowing guests to dine outdoors"
  • Main action: opened a patio section
  • Result described by -ing phrase: allowing guests to dine outdoors

In our question:

• Main clause: "The new central library in Portland was designed with floor-to-ceiling windows along its southern facade"
• -ing phrase showing result: "maximizing natural light throughout the main reading spaces"
• The -ing phrase explains what the windows accomplish without creating a new sentence