A contraction is a shortened form of a word. Only one of the words you’ve underlined is a contraction (haven’t). Contractions are words like: didn’t, couldn’t, hadn’t, I’m, I’ve, etc.
A verb phrase consists of a ‘helping’ verb which comes before the main verb. Helping verbs include words like is, are, were, was, be, been, have, had, do, did, can, could, will, would, etc.
So the verb phrase for question 4 would be ‘They had feared’ or ‘They’d feared’ - ‘had’ is the helping verb, which comes before ‘feared’, the main verb.
The correct option is B) "Revolutionary leaders like Adams considered changing ideas and beliefs to be more important than the battles themselves."
The quotation by John Adams reflects that prior to the actual American Revolution, people had already changed their beliefs and principles and wanted independance from Great Britain. The pamphet "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine was written in 1776 and advocated for American independance. This pamphlet helped in the American people feeling for independance.
