From the words or group of words lettered A to D, choose the word or group of words that best completes each…

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "_ in this town for many years, I can tell you a lot about its people."

The blank needs a phrase that explains why the speaker can tell you a lot. It must also connect to the subject "I" and show that the living happened before the telling.

Concept: the perfect participle phrase

"Having + past participle" (e.g., having lived, having finished) is used at the start of a sentence to show that one action was completed before the main action. It also gives the reason for the main clause, and its understood subject must be the same as the main clause's subject.

Examples:

• Having studied hard, she passed the exam.
• Having worked here for ten years, he knows everyone.

Test each option

• A. from living: "From living in this town for many years, I can tell you..." is grammatically awkward. "From" does not fit here.
• B. to have lived: "To have lived in this town for many years, I can tell you..." is ungrammatical because an infinitive cannot introduce the sentence this way.
• C. having lived: "Having lived in this town for many years, I can tell you a lot about its people." This is correct. The phrase shows a completed past experience that gives the reason for the speaker's knowledge, and it is attached to "I".
• D. in living: "In living in this town for many years, I can tell you..." is awkward and does not give the right meaning.

Answer: C. having lived

Exam tip: When a sentence opens with a blank followed by a time phrase like "for many years" and then a comma, think of a participle phrase such as Having + past participle. Also check that the subject after the comma is the one who did the action.