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Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Besides being e...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Every time I go...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.It is difficult...
ACT English 1.3 Sentence Structure 378 Views
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Description:
ACT English: Sentence Structure Drill 1, Problem 3. Proper word choice for independent clauses.
Transcript
- 00:03
Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by grandparents. Keeping "Werther's" in business
- 00:08
since 1903.
- 00:12
How should you change the highlighted portion below, if at all?
- 00:15
The grandparents drove away in their car. As the children ran behind, shouting and waving
- 00:20
goodbye.
Full Transcript
- 00:28
In this question, the word "as" is doing its best to be what's called a "subordinating
- 00:33
conjunction."
- 00:34
When we slap a subordinating conjunction on the front of what was formerly an independent
- 00:38
clause, the clause's independent spirit is broken, and it suddenly becomes a dependent,
- 00:45
subordinate clause.
- 00:47
Subordinate clauses are always dependent on a main clause, and can never be on their own,
- 00:51
without becoming fragments.
- 00:53
The second supposed sentence here is a good example of this.
- 00:56
"The children ran behind, shouting and waving goodbye," totally works as an independent
- 01:01
clause.
- 01:01
It can stand on its own two feet as a complete sentence, since it has a subject, "children,"
- 01:05
and a predicate, "shouting and waving."
- 01:08
However, as soon as we put "as" in front of this formerly independent clause, its legs
- 01:13
are taken out from under it. Whoopsies.
- 01:17
The addition of "as" signals that the clause is meant to augment the main clause instead
- 01:22
of just doing its own thing.
- 01:24
So, in our sample clauses, the grandparents who are driving away are the main event, while
- 01:29
the children they're leaving behind are the secondary information.
- 01:32
Man, we hope these kids' parents are still around. These grandparents are pretty negligent.
- 01:37
One way to fix the original sentence would be to take out the period and just stick the
- 01:40
sentences together.
- 01:42
This would allow "as" to fulfill its dream of being a proper subordinating conjunction.
- 01:46
Unfortunately, dreams rarely come true...
- 01:50
None of the answer choices present this option, so none of these words are destined to connect
- 01:54
anything to anything.
- 01:56
We can't go around beginning full sentences with subordinating conjunctions, like "as,"
- 02:00
that don't connect anything; otherwise the world would descend into fragmented madness.
- 02:06
This means that we can not only get rid of choice (A), we can also eliminate choice (B).
- 02:11
"While" is a subordinating conjunction as well, and it has all the same problems as
- 02:15
its buddy "as."
- 02:16
Choice (C) suffers from a similar problem. "During" is a preposition, a part of speech
- 02:21
whose job it is to link nouns, pronouns, and phrases.
- 02:25
Because "during" isn't allowed to link anything here, it also transforms the final clause
- 02:29
into a fragment.
- 02:30
It's kind of like this version of the sentence begins with a bridge that leads to nothing
- 02:34
at all.
- 02:36
Choice (D) is the correct answer because it uses a period to separate both independent
- 02:40
clauses and lets them do their thing all by themselves.
- 02:43
Hopefully, the grandparents in question here didn't leave these kids all by themselves.
- 02:47
If so, somebody better call social services.
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