lakshya14 wrote:
Both (B) and (C) look fine, but (C) is more clearer in clearing the ambiguity. The "population" can be of the "officials" or "wolves"?
Hello,
lakshya14. Although (C) does clarify what, exactly, is being counted, it incorrectly places a comma before
however where a semicolon ought to be, thereby creating a comma splice. Yes,
however is a transition word that can take either a semicolon or a comma before it, but the comma version is only used to interrupt a single clause. Compare:
1)
Mr. Jones forbade his students from texting in class; however, he felt it would be okay to do so personally while his students were taking a test.2)
Mr. Jones forbade his students from texting in class; he, however, felt it would be okay to do so personally while his students were taking a test.In addition, since
the wolf population is mentioned earlier in the sentence in the non-underlined portion, a subsequent reference to
the population can be understood to apply to the wolves rather than the officials, especially since
the wolf population falls closer to the potentially ambiguous element.
I hope that helps clarify the issue. (B) is a much stronger answer in the end.
- Andrew