Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting th

'But' indicates that we need to show contrast.

Additionally, 'but' preceded by ',' needs to have independent sentence.

A. but augmenting. Not a complete independent sentence.
B. and have augmented. Sentence must be in present tense as we are presenting a fact
C. and even though they augment. contrast is needed
D. although they augment. correct choice
E. but with augmenting. not a complete sentence .
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Skunks primarily eat fresh plants and animal material, but augmenting their diet by scavenging for human garbage and roadkill.

A. but augmenting
B. and have augmented
C. and even though they augment
D. although they augment
E. but with augmenting

Okay I do get why D is the answer. But the sentence in D should be 'they DO augment' - this would build the contrast in properly. 'Although' is not as direct as 'but' - it usually signals an existing contrast/ contradiction.
I picked B as it seems like a logical and tense based progression "Skunks primarily eat X and Y AND HAVE augmented their diet by A and B" : please let me know the flaw in the reasoning. B still reads more logically than D.

In B, why will one use a present tense for one activity and present perfect for the second act when both happen simultaneously? These are inherent habits and therefore have to be expressed with present tense. Secondly, both activates are not equal functions. Eating is the primary action and augmenting is an auxiliary action. The supplementary action has to be always presented in a subordinate clause or in a modifier. Therefore, B is stylistically inferior in the context.
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Hi Madhavi1990, as daagh sir has pointed out, it is clear from the intended meaning of the sentence that it is a generally true (timeless) fact that Skunks augment their diet by scavenging for human garbage and roadkill.

In such generally true conditions, simple present tense (as used in option D) is the most appropriate (rather than present perfect tense as used in B).

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana discusses Simple Present Tense, its application and examples in significant detail. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.

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Skunks primarily eat fresh plants and animal material, but augmenting their diet by scavenging for human garbage and roadkill.

A. but augmenting. A contender but if you keenly notice, the usage of 'but' is wrong here since we aren't showing any contrast between the sentences before and after the comma.
B. and have augmented. 'augmented' indicates past tense but the sentence is in present tense.
C. and even though they augment. wordy and wrong
D. although they augment. CORRECT. grammatically correct and indicates contrast.
E. but with augmenting. incomplete and wrong usage of gerund

IMO - D

Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.

Error- Second part after comma should be an independent clause. Here in original sentence Subject is missing for Second Clause.
Meaning:
* Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material
* They augment their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses (Contrast)


A. but augmenting : Incorrect - Subject missing for Second IC

B. and have augmented : Incorrect - Subject missing for Second IC

C. and even though they augment : Incorrect - and is not required. "Even though" & "And" both are conjuctions.

D. although they augment : Correct- Coordinate conjunction "Although" is apt here for expressing transition/ contrast

E. but with augmenting : Incorrect - Subject missing for Second IC

Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.

A. but augmenting
The word 'augmenting' should be replaced with proper verb 'augment' to correct the errors

B. and have augmented
The present perfect tense form of the verb 'augment' is illogical in the context of the sentence.

C. and even though they augment
'and' should be eliminated here to fix the sentence error.

D. although they augment
CORRECT ANSWER. The sentence conveys its intended meaning properly and is grammatically correct.

E. but with augmenting
To correct the sentence errors, the word 'augmenting' should be replaced with proper verb 'augment' and the word 'with' should be eliminated.

ANSWER IS (D)

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I think it should be D.


Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.

A. but augmenting - missing verb in the 2nd clause

B. and have augmented - present perfect tense should not be used. a fact/habit is being stated here.

C. and even though they augment - the 2nd clause is incomplete if it starts with "and even though..."

D. although they augment - correct. shows contrast.

E. but with augmenting - awkward construction.

Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.

A. but augmenting

B. and have augmented

C. and even though they augment

D. although they augment

E. but with augmenting

Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, although they augment their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.
is correct since Skunks each ..... , although they augment is correct parallelism.

but augmenting in A, and have augmented in B, and even though they augment in C and but with augmenting in E are incorrect.

IMO D

Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material, but augmenting their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses.

(A) but augmenting
Incorrect, after the contrast 'but' the sentence should be parallel to the first part.

(B) and have augmented
Incorrect, present perfect tense doesn't convey the meaning of how Skunks augment their diet

(C) and even though they augment
Incorrect, usage of 'and' and 'even though' together seems not correct, IMO

(D) although they augment
Correct, conveys the clear meaning.
Re-written: Although they augment their predatory diet by scavenging for human garbage and bird and rodent carcasses, Skunks primarily eat both plant and animal material

(E) but with augmenting
Incorrect, similar error as in option A

Official Explanation

Creating a filter: When we read the prompt, something is off in the basic subject/verb check. The phrase after the comma makes the sentence ungrammatical. Every phrase in a sentence must be an independent clause, a dependent clause, or a modifying phrase. In this sentence, the phrase after the comma is none of those. The conjunction "but" introduces that phrase as if a subject and verb are coming to make it an independent clause, but they don't appear.

Applying the filter: Choice (D) solves the problem in that manner, with a proper conjunction, subject and verb in the words, "although they augment," respectively. Another solution would be to say simply "but augment" and lose the comma before the "but," in which case the entire sentence would be one independent clause.

The correct answer is (D).
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is although one of the fanboys? I feel that the second part of the sentence, starting with the word "although" needs a full stop before it. any expert opinion?

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