[Video] Q42: No change or could investigate or were investigating or were able to investigate

Explanation for Question 42 From the Writing Section on the Official Sat Practice Test 8

So we can see the question number 42 is a question about verb tense, 2 right? Because we're using the same or the same verb to investigate, 3 but we're using it in different tenses. 4 And so in order to do this question, we need to read above that 5 sentence to figure out what tense was the author already using. 6 We can see the flights allowed students to experience microgravity. 7 Um, and that aloud is in the past tense. 8 So we need an answer that's in the past tense. 9 Now age a says investigated, which has passed. 10 So a could work could investigate does not have investigate 11 in the necessarily in the past could could mean present, 12 right? So B is not explicitly in the past. 13 So B is wrong. C says we're investigating, 14 which is in the past. And then we're able to investigate is also in 15 the past. So if they're all in past tense, 16 what are we trying to do? 17 How do we make a distinction between these other answer choices? 18 And the answer is we need to look more closely at the sentence before 19 it says these flights allowed USD students to experience microgravity. 20 So it's allowing them to blank, 21 aloud to blank. 22 Now this doesn't use the word we're investigating it. 23 Doesn't use an ING verb, right? So C is no good. 24 And so all we're left with here is D we're able to, 25 and specifically the reason why that one is right is because we're able means 26 the same thing as allow, right? 27 We're able as the same thing as being allowed to do something. 28 And so D corresponds best with the sentence prior up here. 29 So D is going to be our best answer.