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Confused between A and C. After the semicolon, 'they' refers to the subject of the first part of the sentence, which is the 'hypothesis'..so clearly not correct. But A creates a run-on sentence so not entirely sure.

Well..in an exam situation, I would go with C coz it sounds better.

OA?
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"B".
A-run-on sentence
C-"they" introduces ambiguity
What is the OA?
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OA is C , as B is wordier and longer than C

For C, we can say is sweet and sound :)

Hope that helps :)
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A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

A. A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

B. A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor; therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and the closest living relative of the hippopotamus is the whale.

C. A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor; therefore, they are each other’s closest living relatives.

D. A hypothesis known to be Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor; therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

E. A hypothesis known to be Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor; therefore they are each other’s closest living relatives.



I have the OE

pls explain.This one is a Good Q :)

how come A is wrong ?
C has pronoun they, they could refer to either whales or hippopotamuses
i know the meaning will still be correct, but still.

can anyone please explain it in detail.

thanks :)
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A. A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

how come A is wrong ?
C has pronoun they, they could refer to either whales or hippopotamuses
i know the meaning will still be correct, but still.

can anyone please explain it in detail.

thanks :)

Hi Ady, Let me try to explain why A is wrong ?

I hope you know how we can join two independent clauses. There are 4 conjunctions to fuse two ideas as following :

1. Coordinating conjunction
2. Subordinate conjunction
3. Semicolon
4. Adverbial conjunction (goes with semicolon to join clause)

For more detail refer chapter 10 MGMAT SC guide.

Here in option A. I have marked respective subject verb pairs below. So, they are 2 IC joined by , therefore and comma does not work as conjunction.

Further, therefore is an adverbial conjunction it's role is different. people sometimes mistake adverbial conjunction for subordinate conjunction, but they are completely different types. Main error in A is run-on construction, as we can not join 2 ICs with comma + adverbial conjunction.

A. A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, therefore the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

Refer this link to understand usage of adverbial conjunctions : https://www.chompchomp.com/terms/conjunctiveadverb.htm
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" therefore" is " Conjunctive adverb"

The structure of a sentence that has conjunctive adverb as follows.

clause1; conjunctive adverb, clause2
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Is therefore not the same as so? Imagine the sentence like this:

A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, so the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

Would this work?

I thought it although FANBOYS does not include this word, it is much the same as "so". Accordingly, I went with A. expert post would be appreciated regarding this problem. Is FANBOYS strictly limited to the words with these initials?
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Foreheadson
Is therefore not the same as so? Imagine the sentence like this:

A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, so the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

Would this work?

I thought it although FANBOYS does not include this word, it is much the same as "so". Accordingly, I went with A. expert post would be appreciated regarding this problem. Is FANBOYS strictly limited to the words with these initials?
That's a good question. It seems that so and therefore work different grammatically, in this regard.

Therefore cannot connect two independent clauses, while so can.

Apart from therefore, other words that cannot connect two independent clauses include instead, consequently, moreover, hence, likewise, however and otherwise.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana makes a special mention of this point. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.
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Foreheadson
Is therefore not the same as so? Imagine the sentence like this:

A hypothesis known as Cetartiodactyla theorizes that whales and hippopotamuses evolved from a common ancestor, so the closest living relative of the whale is the hippopotamus and vice versa.

Would this work?

I thought it although FANBOYS does not include this word, it is much the same as "so". Accordingly, I went with A. expert post would be appreciated regarding this problem. Is FANBOYS strictly limited to the words with these initials?
That's a good question. It seems that so and therefore work different grammatically, in this regard.

Therefore cannot connect two independent clauses, while so can.

Apart from therefore, other words that cannot connect two independent clauses include instead, consequently, moreover, hence, likewise, however and otherwise.

p.s. Our book EducationAisle Sentence Correction Nirvana makes a special mention of this point. Have attached the corresponding section of the book, for your reference.
Many thanks for your comprehensive response. It really helped me clear the doubts.
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