Reading and Writing: Standard English Conventions
SAT Question of the Day for October 27, 2026
The implications of the recent discovery by a team of paleontologists working in the Gobi Desert—that a previously unknown species of tyrannosaur roamed the region roughly sixty-eight million years ago—_______ still being debated by researchers who study Late Cretaceous ecosystems.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A.areCorrect answer
- B.is
- C.has been
- D.was
Explanation
The subject of the sentence is "implications," a plural noun that requires the plural verb "are." The long dash-enclosed parenthetical—"that a previously unknown species of tyrannosaur roamed the region roughly sixty-eight million years ago"—and the intervening prepositional phrases ("of the recent discovery," "by a team of paleontologists") create substantial distance between the subject and its verb, tempting the reader to match the verb with a nearer singular noun such as "discovery," "team," or "species." The singular form "is" fails to agree with the plural subject "implications." The singular present-perfect form "has been" likewise does not agree with the plural subject. The singular past-tense form "was" both fails in agreement and incorrectly shifts the debate into the past, whereas the sentence indicates the debate is ongoing.
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