Multiple choice

Although the Supreme Court ruled as long ago as 1953 that people with disabilities could not be excluded outright from civil service, nearly six decades of case-by-case adjudication has been necessary to develop and enforce the principle that all bureaucracies must be drawn from “a fair cross section of the community.”

  1. has been necessary to develop and enforce the principle that all bureaucracies must be

  2. was necessary for developing and enforcing the principle of all bureaucracies being

  3. was to be necessary in developing and enforcing the principle of all bureaucracies to be

  4. is necessary to develop and enforce the principle that all bureaucracies must be
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

When we want to convey the effects of some past action continuing right up to the present, the tense to use is the present perfect tense. A similar case exists in this question and so the best construct would be 'has been necessary'. Hence (1).

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