Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardParallel Structure

Arrange the sentence segments in the correct order to construct a grammatically correct sentence that maintains parallel structure.

  1. 1The research team's primary objectives were
  2. 2not only to gather baseline soil samples from the volcanic crater,
  3. 3to monitor local seismic patterns using advanced sensors,
  4. 4and to analyze the gas emissions for signs of geothermal activity,
  5. 5but also to publish their findings in a peer-reviewed journal.

Answer

The correct sequence of segments to form a grammatically correct and parallel sentence is: 'The research team's primary objectives were not only to gather baseline soil samples from the volcanic crater, to monitor local seismic patterns using advanced sensors, and to analyze the gas emissions for signs of geothermal activity, but also to publish their findings in a peer-reviewed journal.'
The correct order constructs a coherent sentence where all listed objectives are expressed as parallel infinitive phrases ('to gather', 'to monitor', 'to analyze', and 'to publish'). The correlative conjunction 'not only... but also' is properly balanced, with 'not only' introducing a parallel three-part list of infinitives and 'but also' introducing the final parallel infinitive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the independent clause's subject and verb.
The segment starting with 'The research team's primary objectives' acts as the sentence's grammatical foundation.
Every complete sentence requires a subject and a verb to initiate the main clause before listing coordinate or subordinate elements.
2
Determine the placement of the correlative conjunction's first part.
The segment starting with 'not only to gather' must immediately follow the linking verb 'were'.
This establishes the first element of the correlative 'not only... but also' structure and introduces the first infinitive phrase in the parallel series.
3
Order the elements of the internal list in a parallel fashion.
The segment starting with 'to monitor' must follow the first infinitive phrase, and the segment starting with 'and to analyze' must follow it to complete the list of three internal items.
Parallel structure requires that all items in a list share the same grammatical form (infinitives: 'to gather', 'to monitor', 'to analyze') and the coordinating conjunction 'and' must precede the final item in this internal sequence.
4
Complete the correlative structure with the matching conjunction and parallel element.
The segment starting with 'but also to publish' must be placed at the end.
This completes the 'not only... but also' correlative pair with a parallel infinitive ('to publish') and ends the sentence with the terminal period.

Key Concept

Parallel Structure
Rate this question

Topics

Parallel Structure

More questions from this topic