Jesse Treviño's 1976 painting Mis Hermanos was featured in the Smithsonian's 2013 exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art. The piece ______ chosen for the exhibition by curator E. Carmen Ramos.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Explanation
Context: "Jesse Treviño's 1976 painting Mis Hermanos was featured in the Smithsonian's 2013 exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art. The piece _____ chosen for the exhibition by curator E. Carmen Ramos." The 2013 exhibition is a specific, completed past event. The question is about the time sequence: was the choosing a simple past action concurrent with the exhibition, or was it prior?
Answer: B) had been
Why? The piece had to be chosen BEFORE it was featured in the 2013 exhibition. Past perfect "had been" (chosen) correctly indicates that the selection occurred prior to the featuring/exhibition. The sequence: curator chose it → it was featured in the exhibition.
Traps:
- A) "is" → present tense is incorrect for a 2013 past event
- C) "will be" → future tense is incorrect for a completed 2013 event
- D) "is being" → present progressive is incorrect