Hi rrsnathan,
Astronomers have theorized that the Big Bang governs the behavior of interstellar dust, particles that comprise the atoms and molecules created in the progenitive explosion and
persisting in even the emptiest regions of space.
a )persisting
b) persists
c) persisted
d) they persisted
e) are persisting
MEANING ANALYSIS:Let's begin with understanding the meaning of the sentence. The sentence says that according astronomers, Big Bang governs the behavior of interstellar dust. Then it explains the "interstellar dust". These are particles that are made up of atoms and molecules. Further, the sentence presents a few characteristics of these "atoms and molecules". These "atoms and molecules" are created in the progenitive explosion, and they persist in even the emptiest regions of space.
ERROR ANALYSIS:Let's break the sentence in its clauses.
Cl. 1:
Astronomers have theorized Cl. 2: that
the Big Bang governs the behavior of interstellar dust, particles
Cl. 3:
that comprise the atoms and molecules
created in the progenitive explosion and
persisting in even the emptiest regions of space.
A thing to notice in this sentence is that "created" and "persisting" both are modifiers that present information about the "atoms and molecules". Also note that "persisting" just by itelf CANNOT be a verb because there has to be a helping verb is/am/was/were etc present before the -ing word to make a verb.
Also notice that "created" and "persisting" both are noun modifiers that modify the same entity. they preform the same function of modifying a common noun entity. Hence, they are perfectly parallel. So there are NO ERRORS in this sentence. Let's move on to the answer choice now.
PoE: a) persisting:
Correct.b) persists:
Incorrect. "persist" is not parallel to "created" anymore because it is a verb. It is now parallel to another verb "comprise". But singular verb "persist" doe snot agree in number with plural "atoms and molecules".
c) persisted:
Incorrect. Same parallelism error as in Choice B. "persisted" in not even in the same verb tense as "comprise".
d) they persisted:
Incorrect. This Independent Clause is NOT PROPERLY connected to the rest of the sentence. It is neither preceded by any Comma + FANBOYS nor by a semicolon, a colon, or a dash.
e) are persisting:
Incorrect. Same errors as in Choice C.
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Shraddha
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