Re: On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed
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21 Jun 2017, 16:08
Hi all, here is my analysis.
On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
A. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
B. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
C. On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
D. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow
Reverse Construction:
_On the table there is one pen. This sentence is equivalent to:
_One pen is on the table.
Subject = one pen
Verb = is
Note that: The prepositional phrase = "on the table" CANNOT be the SUBJECT of the sentence.
The reverse construction is applied to A, B, C, & E.
_Prepositional phrase = [Among........] CANNOT be the Subject
_Subject = the rate
_Verb = is
Hence, A & B are out since Subject & Verb do not agree.
We are down to C, D, & E.
_D is a FRAGMENT because D has NO MAIN VERB.
Now, between C & E, which of of them is correct?
Lets observe the portion that is NOT underlined:
_[as seen in the rings.....]= a MODIFIER
_What does it modify?
_It modifies THE RATE.
_In (E) THE RATE is close to its MODIFIER = [as seen......], while in (C) those two are FAR AWAY from each other --> E is better than C, and thus E is the correct choice.
In addition, "On Earth" is moved around in C & E. Once gain, the same question: What does " On Earth" modify?
_It modifies "Indications".
_As seen in E, "On Earth" is right next to "Indications", whereas in C those two are FAR AWAY from each other. Once again, E is better than C.