TOEIC Reading 5 Exercisee 225

<span id="docs-internal-guid-5f0bd938-7fff-243d-b9a2-b03ef912cad2"><p dir="ltr"><span>The question is a simple sentence that follows the pattern: S + V + O. Preceded by the phrase “By the end of the fourth quarter,” the subject is “the overhead costs,” the verb is the blank, and the object is “the company’s estimates.” The phrase “by over 15 percent” is meant to add extra information to the sentence.&nbsp;</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>Since the blank should be filled with a verb, (A) "</span><span>surpassing"</span><span> can be eliminated first because a gerund or present participle alone can’t serve as a verb in a sentence.&nbsp; (D) "</span><span>surpasses"</span><span> is eliminated too because it’s a singular verb, but the subject “the overhead costs” is plural.&nbsp;</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>(C) "</span><span>was surpassed"</span><span> is incorrect for two reasons. First, it’s a singular verb but the subject “the overhead costs” is plural. Second, the context shows that the overhead costs surpass something instead of being surpassed, so the verb should be an active one, not passive. Thus, (B) "</span><span>had surpassed"</span><span> is the correct answer. Its meaning and tense fit the context.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p></span>