Identify the correct reduced relative clause construction:
The recommendations ________ by the parliamentary standing committee will be debated during next week's legislative session.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. tabled
Answer: tabled. Why not the others: 'tabling' is an active present participle; 'which tabled' is active voice and would mean the recommendations tabled something else; 'were tabled' introduces a finite verb that creates an ungrammatical double predicate ('recommendations were tabled ... will be debated').
- Step 1: Analyze the role of the modifier: the recommendations were tabled by the committee (a passive relative clause: 'which were tabled by...').
- Step 2: In a reduced relative clause with passive meaning, the relative pronoun and auxiliary verb are omitted, leaving only the past participle: 'tabled'.
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