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17 May 2022, 23:55
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
Question Stats:
76% (01:35) correct
24%
(01:39)
wrong
based on 299
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Franklin Roosevelt, leading America through the Great Depression and winning the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security, was voted the greatest president of the 20th century by 78% of respondents in a recent nationwide poll.
A) Franklin Roosevelt, leading America through the Great Depression and winning the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security,
B) Franklin Roosevelt, leader of America through the Great Depression and winner of the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security,
C) Leading America through the Great Depression and winning the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, who also set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security,
D) Franklin Roosevelt, leader of America through the Great Depression and winner of the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, and setter up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security,
E) Leading America through the Great Depression and winning the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security,
17 May 2022, 23:58
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
Well, this version is quite a piece of busywork.
Hmm. Maybe there really is a difference between options A and C.
Might part of that difference be stacked adjectives that radically lengthen the distance between subject (Roosevelt) and verb (was voted)?
Let's see.
→ Does who refer to "Churchill and Stalin"? Or to Roosevelt?
Churchill and Stalin do not seem very important in this sentence; they are along for the ride with Roosevelt, who is the subject of the sentence—and you do not need outside knowledge to know that Roosevelt is the subject.
Although objects of a preposition can take relative clauses, this relative clause happens to be rather significant and the immediately preceding nouns do not seem all that important.
We still don't know whether who set up modifies Churchill and Stalin, on one hand, or Roosevelt, on the other.
• hellishly convoluted
→ As noted above, two long adjective phrases put too much distance between the subject and verb in this option.
→ If a good writer decides to "stack" modifiers (place them back-to-back), she often keeps them parallel to keep the sentence from stuttering.
So, for example, if we really wanted to stack the modifiers, we could write:
→ FDR, who led America through the Great Depression and won the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, and who set up the FDIC and Social Security, [was voted] . . .
[Let me pre-empt what I think might come. The comma after "Stalin" is optional and inserted for ease of reading. Except in the case of a comma splice or missing Oxford comma, do not ever eliminate an option on the basis of a comma.]
• The present participle (verbING) modifiers (leading America and winning the Second World War) are not ideal.
Had I written these sentences, I would have used "having led America . . . and [having] won the war"—perfect participles—to indicate completed action.
Alas, I did not write these sentences.
KEEP A, but look for a sentence with more rhetorical force and better flow
→ No conjunction exists between the phrasal verb set up and the verb was voted.
You cannot "stick" or "glue" two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
→ Alternatively, "was voted" does not have a subject. The subject of the verb "set up" is Roosevelt.
Either way, the error is fatal.
ELIMINATE B
• The modifiers are not "stacked."
→ This structure, much improved from that in (A), is MODIFIER, NOUN/SUBJECT, RELATIVE CLAUSE MODIFIER, VERB
Participles (verbINGs) often precede the noun they describe, as the case here.
Because one noun modifier comes before the subject while the other modifier comes after, the subject and verb are both closer together and less disjointed.
• The "also" refers to another thing that FDR achieved. The "also" is not necessary, but it's a nice flourish in a sentence in which FDR was voted the best president of the twentieth century by nearly 80 percent of respondents.
• Because the modifiers are separated by the subject they describe, their different constructions do not pull the reader along a bumpy path, as is the case in option A.
• kungfury42 , yes, I agree.
The present participle modifiers could tempt us to think that leading and winning might be contemporaneous with the vote, but we soon realize that such an interpretation is not sensible.
Sometimes present participles are used to describe the "why" of a sentence, a linkage that the writer of these sentences was aiming for but did not achieve.
→ Feeling exhausted after hiking in summer heat, he wanted only water and a bed. (Why did he want only water and a bed?)
→ Wondering whether the children were sleeping, Maria closed the door quietly and whispered her friend's name. (Why did Maria close the door quietly and whisper?)
In these cases, the participles modify the subject who is the agent (the doer).
In this option, the participles modify the subject who is an object (of the verb phrase "voted best president").
The better construction would look something like this:
Having led America through the Great Depression and having won the Second World War . . .
Those bolded words are called "perfect participles." You don't need to know the name.
Just know that they express completed action and are often placed at the front of a sentence to modify the upcoming subject.
This construction is not perfect, but it's better than the others.
It is better than option A. Eliminate A, keep C.
KEEP
There is no such thing as a "setter up." (Well, maybe so in volleyball -- I have no idea but vaguely remember having to set up a spoke -- but not in SWE.)
• "Stacked modifiers"
As is the case in option A, too many adjectives phrases interrupt the connection between subject and verb.
ELIMINATE D
→ If Roosevelt is the object of the verb "was voted" (he is), then we need a conjunction such as and before the second verb.
→ Alternatively, whereas set up has the subject Roosevelt, the verb was voted might be missing a subject.
ELIMINATE E
The best answer is C.
COMMENTS
That sentence above in blue typeface should state, "The least bad of the five options is C."
If I could drive home just one thing about SC, it would not be about grammar, logic, or style.
It would be about tactics.
Use, and practice using, process of elimination.
Especially in SC, in which you can save time if you stay focused, you must actually practice process of elimination.
Find 10 old questions that you have seen and done.
→ Rather than choosing the best answer, go through the question again and force yourself to eliminate the four worst answers and to write one- or two-word reasons that underlie your elimination.
→ Read the remaining option.
If you are sure that the other four answers either contain clear error or are not as good as the one left standing, pick the one left standing.
Do not insist that the last option standing be a "good" sentence. (You're not even supposed to be looking for a "good" sentence, but rather, the "least bad.")
The analysis here is mostly good, and I see thoughtful or interesting points in each post.
Nicely done.
THE PROMPT
Quote:
Well, this version is quite a piece of busywork.
Hmm. Maybe there really is a difference between options A and C.
Might part of that difference be stacked adjectives that radically lengthen the distance between subject (Roosevelt) and verb (was voted)?
Let's see.
Quote:
• who set up is ambiguous.
→ Does who refer to "Churchill and Stalin"? Or to Roosevelt?
Churchill and Stalin do not seem very important in this sentence; they are along for the ride with Roosevelt, who is the subject of the sentence—and you do not need outside knowledge to know that Roosevelt is the subject.
Although objects of a preposition can take relative clauses, this relative clause happens to be rather significant and the immediately preceding nouns do not seem all that important.
We still don't know whether who set up modifies Churchill and Stalin, on one hand, or Roosevelt, on the other.
• hellishly convoluted
→ As noted above, two long adjective phrases put too much distance between the subject and verb in this option.
→ If a good writer decides to "stack" modifiers (place them back-to-back), she often keeps them parallel to keep the sentence from stuttering.
So, for example, if we really wanted to stack the modifiers, we could write:
→ FDR, who led America through the Great Depression and won the Second World War in collaboration with Churchill and Stalin, and who set up the FDIC and Social Security, [was voted] . . .
[Let me pre-empt what I think might come. The comma after "Stalin" is optional and inserted for ease of reading. Except in the case of a comma splice or missing Oxford comma, do not ever eliminate an option on the basis of a comma.]
• The present participle (verbING) modifiers (leading America and winning the Second World War) are not ideal.
Had I written these sentences, I would have used "having led America . . . and [having] won the war"—perfect participles—to indicate completed action.
Alas, I did not write these sentences.
KEEP A, but look for a sentence with more rhetorical force and better flow
Quote:
• Comma splice or The Missing Subject
→ No conjunction exists between the phrasal verb set up and the verb was voted.
You cannot "stick" or "glue" two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
→ Alternatively, "was voted" does not have a subject. The subject of the verb "set up" is Roosevelt.
Either way, the error is fatal.
ELIMINATE B
Quote:
• This option fixes the problems in option A, though this option is by no means perfect.
• The modifiers are not "stacked."
→ This structure, much improved from that in (A), is MODIFIER, NOUN/SUBJECT, RELATIVE CLAUSE MODIFIER, VERB
Participles (verbINGs) often precede the noun they describe, as the case here.
Because one noun modifier comes before the subject while the other modifier comes after, the subject and verb are both closer together and less disjointed.
• The "also" refers to another thing that FDR achieved. The "also" is not necessary, but it's a nice flourish in a sentence in which FDR was voted the best president of the twentieth century by nearly 80 percent of respondents.
• Because the modifiers are separated by the subject they describe, their different constructions do not pull the reader along a bumpy path, as is the case in option A.
• kungfury42 , yes, I agree.
The present participle modifiers could tempt us to think that leading and winning might be contemporaneous with the vote, but we soon realize that such an interpretation is not sensible.
Sometimes present participles are used to describe the "why" of a sentence, a linkage that the writer of these sentences was aiming for but did not achieve.
→ Feeling exhausted after hiking in summer heat, he wanted only water and a bed. (Why did he want only water and a bed?)
→ Wondering whether the children were sleeping, Maria closed the door quietly and whispered her friend's name. (Why did Maria close the door quietly and whisper?)
In these cases, the participles modify the subject who is the agent (the doer).
In this option, the participles modify the subject who is an object (of the verb phrase "voted best president").
The better construction would look something like this:
Having led America through the Great Depression and having won the Second World War . . .
Those bolded words are called "perfect participles." You don't need to know the name.
Just know that they express completed action and are often placed at the front of a sentence to modify the upcoming subject.
This construction is not perfect, but it's better than the others.
It is better than option A. Eliminate A, keep C.
KEEP
Quote:
• Diction disaster / nonsensical
There is no such thing as a "setter up." (Well, maybe so in volleyball -- I have no idea but vaguely remember having to set up a spoke -- but not in SWE.)
• "Stacked modifiers"
As is the case in option A, too many adjectives phrases interrupt the connection between subject and verb.
ELIMINATE D
Quote:
• Comma splice or The Missing Subject
→ If Roosevelt is the object of the verb "was voted" (he is), then we need a conjunction such as and before the second verb.
→ Alternatively, whereas set up has the subject Roosevelt, the verb was voted might be missing a subject.
ELIMINATE E
The best answer is C.
COMMENTS
That sentence above in blue typeface should state, "The least bad of the five options is C."
If I could drive home just one thing about SC, it would not be about grammar, logic, or style.
It would be about tactics.
Use, and practice using, process of elimination.
Especially in SC, in which you can save time if you stay focused, you must actually practice process of elimination.
Find 10 old questions that you have seen and done.
→ Rather than choosing the best answer, go through the question again and force yourself to eliminate the four worst answers and to write one- or two-word reasons that underlie your elimination.
→ Read the remaining option.
If you are sure that the other four answers either contain clear error or are not as good as the one left standing, pick the one left standing.
Do not insist that the last option standing be a "good" sentence. (You're not even supposed to be looking for a "good" sentence, but rather, the "least bad.")
The analysis here is mostly good, and I see thoughtful or interesting points in each post.
Nicely done.
18 May 2022, 00:27
Kudos
Bookmarks
My answer is (C). It took me 01:02.
(A) "who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" modifies either "Stalin" or "Churchill and Stalin". Some external knowledge is needed to know that it is Franklin Roosevelt who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security.
(B) "set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" seems to be the main verb for subject "Franklin Roosevelt", but "was voted..." lacks its subject.
(C) A properly constructed sentence.
(D) "setter" tries to be parallel with "leader" and "winner", but "setter up" is not a noun to start with.
(E) "Franklin Roosevelt set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" contains a subject and verb, but "was voted..." lacks its subject.
(A) "who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" modifies either "Stalin" or "Churchill and Stalin". Some external knowledge is needed to know that it is Franklin Roosevelt who set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security.
(B) "set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" seems to be the main verb for subject "Franklin Roosevelt", but "was voted..." lacks its subject.
(C) A properly constructed sentence.
(D) "setter" tries to be parallel with "leader" and "winner", but "setter up" is not a noun to start with.
(E) "Franklin Roosevelt set up the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Social Security" contains a subject and verb, but "was voted..." lacks its subject.
