Choose the phrase that best completes the sentence: 'In spite of ______ multiple setbacks during the synthesis phase, the researchers finalized the polymer.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. encountering
- Step 1: 'In spite of' is a complex prepositional phrase.
- Step 2: Prepositions in English must be followed by a noun, pronoun, or gerund (-ing form).
- Step 3: Therefore, the gerund 'encountering' correctly completes the prepositional complement.
Answer
encountering.
Why not the others: 'encountered' is a past participle or past finite verb, which cannot follow a preposition directly; 'they encountered' forms an ungrammatical clause after a preposition (requires 'in spite of the fact that'); 'to encounter' is an infinitive, which cannot follow 'in spite of'.
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