+HOT Competition 4 Sep/9AM: During the performance, a challenging work

Veritas Prep Explanation:

The correct answer is D.

This answer correctly uses the subject form pronoun “who” as the subject of “has become” and the past tense “reconnected” to fit the timeline of “she had until then”; “ever more open” is an acceptable idiomatic construction to describe Abramović’s growing openness.

Answer A uses the possessive relative pronoun “whose” incorrectly. As a possessive, “whose” functions as an adjective. For this reason, “whose” cannot be the subject of any verb, including the verb “has become” in this sentence. So what, exactly, is the subject of “has become”? A verb inside a modifier must take its subject within that same modifier, but neither “whose” nor “devotees” can logically and grammatically function as the subject of “has become.” As such, this answer has a sentence construction error.

Answer B creates the opposite error; both “who” and “she” fight to act as the subject of “has become,” and the result is another sentence construction error.

Answer C, though awkward-sounding, technically is correct in saying “whose devotees say she has become.” However, this answer mangles the verb tense at the end. The past tense “reconnected” is required to fit the timeline of “she had until then” from later in the sentence. This latter phrase makes clear that the performance and the reconnection must have both taken place in the past.

Answer E again mangles the verb tenses. The use of “becomes” suggests a general truism rather than a specific action. This is at best a bit odd, but perhaps it is survivable. However, the later “is reconnecting” cannot work at all. The past tense “reconnected” is required to fit the timeline of “she had until then” from later in the sentence. This latter phrase makes clear that the performance and the reconnection must have both taken place in the past.