Project SC Butler: Day 99 Sentence Correction (SC1)
For SC butler Questions Click Here If the botanists's theory was correct, the plant's failureto produce buds is caused by something other than the placement of the seeds and the moisture level of the soil.
A) If the botanists's theory
was correct, the plant's failure to produce buds
B) The plant's failure to produce buds—if the botanist
were to be correct—
suchC) If the botanist's theory
were correct, the plant's failure to produce buds
D)
Having failed to produce buds, if the
botanist's theory is correct,
the plantE) If the botanist's theory is correct, the plant's failure to produce buds
OFFICIAL EXPLANATIONMy annotations are in blue typeface.• Notice that the verb in the result clause [
of the conditional sentence] is not underlined [
and is in the present tense].
[
Use this correct portion of the sentence to guide you in choosing the correct verb for the IF clause.]
• This present tense verb should clue you in to the fact that the sentence is a zero conditional.
• It is a statement of fact, and thus the verb in the conditional [
IF] clause should also have a present tense verb.
• The correct answer is E
ANALYSIS• When we see an IF clause such as
If the botanist's theory, we should start looking for verb tense issues.
• IF/THEN sentences are conditional statements: if X, then Y.
(Other statements that do not explicitly use the words
if and
then can also be conditional statements.)
• A
zero conditional is a general truth or a statement of fact. A zero conditional can also be used to
give instructions, and in that case the result clause will have an imperative verb tense:
If this thing happens, then that thing happens.Examples
-- If he gets stung by a bee, he develops a severe allergic reaction.
-- Hypothermia is a dangerous medical condition in which the human body loses heat faster than the body can produce heat.
-- If an oil fire occurs in your kitchen, do not use water to put the fire out.
• Zero conditionals
-- The
if statement is called the condition.
The conditional
if statement can be implied, as in the second part of the example above ("if the human body loses heater faster than")
-- The
result clause is sometimes called the
main clause
-- The verb tenses are always: IF (
simple present) and THEN/result (
simple present)
• Zero conditionals are the only conditional in which the result clause is in simple present tense.
• This question expresses a scientific truth, a statement of fact.
The non-underlined result states that
the failure . . . is caused. The verb phrase
is caused tells us that we have a zero conditional.
The IF clause must also use simple present tense.
• Errors in the options
Options A, B, and C do not use simple present tense.
Option D is a hot mess.
It looks as if it has the correct verb, but option D has modifier, meaning, and logic errors.
-- Introductory verbING phrases must always modify the subject that follows the introductory phrase
Having failed to produce buds, . . .
the scientist's theoryA
theory can neither produce nor fail to produce flower buds.
-- meaning? Nonsensical.
Correct meaning: The cause of the failure is
something other than X and Y-- check for logical sequence in IF/THEN statements. (In this example, dumb logic is easy to spot.)
A
plant is not caused by something other than the placement of the seeds and the moisture level of the soil.
A
plant's failure to produce buds is caused by by something other than the placement of the seeds and the moisture level of the soil.
• Option E is correct.
COMMENTSAll answers are correct.
Ashokshiva wrote the best answer.
Kudos!
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