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24 Jun 2021, 23:36
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B
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
Question Stats:
44% (01:06) correct
56%
(01:09)
wrong
based on 511
sessions
History
Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
Alerted by the alarm calls of monkeys, the deer soon dispersed, some going back into the pond, while others venturing onto the nearby rocks to access green shoots.
A) pond, while others venturing
B) pond, others venturing
C) pond, others venture
D) pond; others venturing
E) pond; while others venture
24 Jun 2021, 23:38
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
THE PROMPT
This sentence contains a fairly sophisticated and somewhat idiomatic construction in which two adjective phrases modify a noun.
Time to break this sentence down.
Let's strip it.
The introductory phrase is a noun modifier. What were alerted by the alarm calls of monkeys? The deer.
We can strike that information.
We also do not care why the deer went onto the rocks. Strike that noun modifier, too.
So, from the original, we strike the intro and ending phrases:
Alerted by the alarm calls of monkeys, the deer soon dispersed, some going back into the pond, while others venturing on to the nearby rocks to access green shoots.
The sentence, stripped:
The [frightened] deer soon dispersed, some going back into the pond, while others venturing on to the nearby rocks.
↑↑
That sentence ought to look strange to you.
→ The word while is a subordinate conjunction that almost always must be followed by a full clause with a subject and a bona fide verb.
The word venturing is not a verb.
In the correct answer, B, we have two participle (verbING) modifiers, both of which modify deer, the subject of the main clause.
The two modifiers are parallel.
One follows right after the other without a conjunction between them.
This structure is similar to "The More the X, the More the Y."
The construction in this sentence comes after the main clause: "Some Doing X, Others Doing Y."
Examples:
→ The excited children clamored for recess, some not bothering to don their coats, others forgetting their rain boots.
→ The law school graduates sat for the bar exam, some starting immediately, others taking their time.
You do not need to know this construction to arrive at the correct answer.
The other four answers are ungrammatical.
Once again, the two phrases (some going back into the pond and others venturing onto the rocks) both modify the subject of the main clause, The deer soon dispersed.
THE OPTIONS, in a shortened sentence
→ While is used to create a subordinate clause, which needs to contain a subject and a verb.
→ There are exceptions to this rule (about a subordinator needing a clause with a working verb).
On rare occasions, while and other subordinating conjunctions can be followed by a participle phrase (a verbING or verbED phrase) if the subject and verb are clear.
One such rare official example is here.
→ The part after the word while does not contain a verb.
The result is an incoherent sentence.
→ The word venturing, by itself, cannot act as a verb.
It needs to be preceded by a helping verb such as is or are in order to act as a verb. [That sort of construction would make no sense in this instance.]
ELIMINATE A
The part beginning with others is acting a modifier and so is correctly placed after a comma.
We have two adjectival modifiers, one right after the other. Both work.
They are also parallel: some going . . . , others venturing . . .
KEEP
→ we cannot "stick" two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
→ To connect two independent clauses, we can use
1) COMMA + AND
2) a SEMICOLON, or
3) a period.
We cannot use a comma alone.
→ Some people call this kind of sentence a "run-on."
Whatever you call this sentence, the error is fatal.
ELIMINATE C
→ Whatever comes before a semicolon must be a full clause, and whatever comes after a semicolon must also be a full clause.
In other words, a semicolon can only join full clauses. (A semicolon can also serve to "mark off" complicated list items.)
→ The word venturing is not a verb. On the RHS of the semicolon, then, we do not have a full clause.
ELIMINATE D
→ same problem as that in option D
On the right hand side of the semicolon, we have:
While others venture onto the rocks. ← ← That thing is not an independent clause.
ELIMINATE OPTION E
The correct answer is B.
NOTES
For an example of an official sentence [SPOILER ALERT] in which adjective modifiers are placed back to back without a comma, click on this link, here.
Journalists and essayists often use the construction in this sentence.
I would suggest that everybody read 15 minutes a day.
COMMENTS
It's perfectly fine that every poster so far took a wrong turn.
That fact is the good news.
This is the place to "get the kinks out"—to find the gaps in your training.
And whoever heard of learning without mistakes anyway?
As always, I extend a standing invitation to new people or shy people: please, join us!
Tonight I'll be strict. No correct answers, no kudos.
Keep up the excellent effort.
Project SC Butler: Sentence Correction (SC1)
THE PROMPT
Quote:
This sentence contains a fairly sophisticated and somewhat idiomatic construction in which two adjective phrases modify a noun.
Time to break this sentence down.
Let's strip it.
The introductory phrase is a noun modifier. What were alerted by the alarm calls of monkeys? The deer.
We can strike that information.
We also do not care why the deer went onto the rocks. Strike that noun modifier, too.
So, from the original, we strike the intro and ending phrases:
The sentence, stripped:
The [frightened] deer soon dispersed, some going back into the pond, while others venturing on to the nearby rocks.
↑↑
That sentence ought to look strange to you.
→ The word while is a subordinate conjunction that almost always must be followed by a full clause with a subject and a bona fide verb.
The word venturing is not a verb.
In the correct answer, B, we have two participle (verbING) modifiers, both of which modify deer, the subject of the main clause.
The two modifiers are parallel.
One follows right after the other without a conjunction between them.
This structure is similar to "The More the X, the More the Y."
The construction in this sentence comes after the main clause: "Some Doing X, Others Doing Y."
Examples:
→ The excited children clamored for recess, some not bothering to don their coats, others forgetting their rain boots.
→ The law school graduates sat for the bar exam, some starting immediately, others taking their time.
You do not need to know this construction to arrive at the correct answer.
The other four answers are ungrammatical.
Once again, the two phrases (some going back into the pond and others venturing onto the rocks) both modify the subject of the main clause, The deer soon dispersed.
THE OPTIONS, in a shortened sentence
Quote:
• the word while is a subordinating conjunction similar to although and whereas.
→ While is used to create a subordinate clause, which needs to contain a subject and a verb.
→ There are exceptions to this rule (about a subordinator needing a clause with a working verb).
On rare occasions, while and other subordinating conjunctions can be followed by a participle phrase (a verbING or verbED phrase) if the subject and verb are clear.
One such rare official example is here.
→ The part after the word while does not contain a verb.
The result is an incoherent sentence.
→ The word venturing, by itself, cannot act as a verb.
It needs to be preceded by a helping verb such as is or are in order to act as a verb. [That sort of construction would make no sense in this instance.]
ELIMINATE A
Quote:
• correct
The part beginning with others is acting a modifier and so is correctly placed after a comma.
We have two adjectival modifiers, one right after the other. Both work.
They are also parallel: some going . . . , others venturing . . .
KEEP
Quote:
• COMMA SPLICE
→ we cannot "stick" two independent clauses together with nothing more than a comma.
→ To connect two independent clauses, we can use
1) COMMA + AND
2) a SEMICOLON, or
3) a period.
We cannot use a comma alone.
→ Some people call this kind of sentence a "run-on."
Whatever you call this sentence, the error is fatal.
ELIMINATE C
Quote:
• SEMICOLON error (yes, this issue is tested)
→ Whatever comes before a semicolon must be a full clause, and whatever comes after a semicolon must also be a full clause.
In other words, a semicolon can only join full clauses. (A semicolon can also serve to "mark off" complicated list items.)
→ The word venturing is not a verb. On the RHS of the semicolon, then, we do not have a full clause.
ELIMINATE D
Quote:
• SEMICOLON error
→ same problem as that in option D
On the right hand side of the semicolon, we have:
While others venture onto the rocks. ← ← That thing is not an independent clause.
ELIMINATE OPTION E
The correct answer is B.
NOTES
For an example of an official sentence [SPOILER ALERT] in which adjective modifiers are placed back to back without a comma, click on this link, here.
Journalists and essayists often use the construction in this sentence.
I would suggest that everybody read 15 minutes a day.
COMMENTS
It's perfectly fine that every poster so far took a wrong turn.
That fact is the good news.
This is the place to "get the kinks out"—to find the gaps in your training.
And whoever heard of learning without mistakes anyway?
As always, I extend a standing invitation to new people or shy people: please, join us!
Tonight I'll be strict. No correct answers, no kudos.
Keep up the excellent effort.
General Discussion
24 Jun 2021, 23:59
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Bookmarks
(A) is the answer IMO
A) pond, while others venturing
Sentence is parallel; Two actions are parallel and while is appropriately helping to demonstrate that two actions were simultaneous.
B) pond, others venturing
Parallelism is lost Comma does not play the role as played by "and", "while", "but" etc
C) pond, others venture
Same issue as B + Parallelism is missing
D) pond; others venturing
Semicolon ends the sentence and the phrase that starts is not an independent clause also parallelism is missing
E) pond; while others venture
Semicolon ends the sentence and the phrase that starts is not an independent clause also parallelism is missing
A) pond, while others venturing
Sentence is parallel; Two actions are parallel and while is appropriately helping to demonstrate that two actions were simultaneous.
B) pond, others venturing
Parallelism is lost Comma does not play the role as played by "and", "while", "but" etc
C) pond, others venture
Same issue as B + Parallelism is missing
D) pond; others venturing
Semicolon ends the sentence and the phrase that starts is not an independent clause also parallelism is missing
E) pond; while others venture
Semicolon ends the sentence and the phrase that starts is not an independent clause also parallelism is missing
