Question

Which of the underlined verbs must be changed to maintain verb tense consistency?

There are more private K-8 schools than there are private schools for grades 9-12, so many students who attend private grade school went on to attend a public high school.
the first "are"


the second "are"


attend


went

Answer 1

Answer:

• The verb    went    must be changed to maintain verb tense consistency.

Explanation:

Verb consistency means that the verbs in the sentence must agree in number (singular/plural) and tense (present/past/future/perfect/progressive).

Verb tense consistency requires that the verbs in clauses of the same sentence agree in tense.

This is, you must not change from one tense to another.

In the sentence "There are more private K-8 schools than there are private schools for grades 9-12, so many students who attend private grade school went on to attend a public high school", the two are and  attend  are in present, while went is in past tense.

Using went, then breakes the consisteny.

Thus, went must be changed to maintain verb tense consistency.