Understanding Sentence Completion and Grammar

This question tests your understanding of English grammar, specifically focusing on subject-verb agreement and appropriate word choice to complete a sentence logically and grammatically. We need to fill two blanks in the sentence:

The strategies that the company ________ to sell its products________ house-to-house marketing.

To correctly fill the blanks, we must identify the subjects for each verb and ensure the verbs agree in number (singular or plural) with their respective subjects. This is crucial for maintaining grammatical correctness and clear sentence structure.

Analyzing the First Blank: Verb for "Company"

• The first blank requires a verb that corresponds to the subject "the company".
• "Company" is a singular noun.
• Therefore, the verb describing the action of "the company" must be in its singular form to maintain subject-verb agreement.
• In the present tense, the singular form of the verb "to use" is "uses".
• Let's evaluate the options based on the first blank:
  • Option 1: use is a plural verb form. This is incorrect for a singular subject like "company".
  • Option 2: uses is a singular verb form. This is correct for the singular subject "company".
  • Option 3: used is a past tense verb form. While grammatically correct for past actions, the sentence structure often implies a general truth or present practice, making "uses" more suitable if present tense is implied. Also, the second blank needs to be checked.
  • Option 4: uses is a singular verb form. This is correct for the singular subject "company".
• Based on the first blank, options 2 and 4 are the most promising choices for maintaining grammatical correctness in the present tense context.

Analyzing the Second Blank: Verb for "Strategies"

• The second blank requires a word that explains what the "strategies" involve or contain. The subject for this part of the sentence is "The strategies".
• "Strategies" is a plural noun.
• Therefore, the verb or connecting word describing what the "strategies" do or include must agree with this plural subject.
• Let's examine the remaining viable options (Options 2 and 4) for the second blank:
  • Option 2: include is the plural form of the verb "to include". This perfectly agrees with the plural subject "strategies". The phrase "strategies include house-to-house marketing" clearly states that house-to-house marketing is one of the company's strategies.
  • Option 4: including is a present participle often used as a preposition to introduce items that are part of a group (e.g., "The strategies, including house-to-house marketing, are effective."). While grammatically permissible, "include" provides a more direct and standard subject-verb relationship for stating what the strategies comprise. The sentence "The strategies that the company uses to sell its products include house-to-house marketing" is a direct and strong statement of fact regarding the company's marketing strategies.
• For direct subject-verb agreement, "include" is the most appropriate and grammatically correct choice when stating what the "strategies" are.

Detailed Option Analysis for Grammatical Correctness

Conclusion: Choosing the Best Fit for Company Strategies

Based on a thorough analysis of subject-verb agreement for both blanks, Option 2, uses, include, provides the most grammatically sound and contextually appropriate completion for the sentence. The company uses strategies (singular subject "company" with singular verb "uses"), and these strategies include house-to-house marketing (plural subject "strategies" with plural verb "include"). This combination ensures accurate grammatical structure and clear meaning regarding the company's strategies to sell its products, especially house-to-house marketing efforts.