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Difficulty: HardSubordination and Coordination

The following passage is about advancements in civil engineering:

Modern materials scientists have developed "self-healing" concrete, a building material embedded with bacterial spores and nutrients. Although the concrete remains intact under normal conditions, moisture enters when cracks begin to form, and this activates the bacteria to produce limestone that seals the fissures.

Which of the following options most effectively subordinates or coordinates the clauses in the underlined portion to establish a grammatically correct and logical relationship?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    Although the concrete remains intact under normal conditions; moisture enters when cracks begin to form, activating
  3. C
    The concrete remains intact under normal conditions, moisture enters when cracks begin to form, and this activates
  4. D
    Although the concrete remains intact under normal conditions. Moisture enters when cracks begin to form, which activates

Answer

The correct phrasing is the original version, which correctly subordinates the introductory clause using a comma and coordinates the subsequent independent clauses.
The correct phrasing uses the subordinating conjunction 'Although' to set up a dependent clause of concession, which is properly separated from the main independent clause by a comma. The coordination of the remaining clauses is also grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship between the first clause and the subsequent clauses.
The first clause ('Although the concrete remains intact under normal conditions') is a dependent clause that establishes a contrast with the main idea of moisture entering. Therefore, it requires a subordinating conjunction like 'Although'.
Identifying the clause type is necessary to determine the correct punctuation and conjunctions needed.
2
Examine the punctuation separating the dependent clause from the first independent clause.
A dependent clause starting with 'Although' at the beginning of a sentence must be separated from the independent clause with a comma, not a semicolon or a period.
Using a semicolon or period here would create a fragment or punctuation error.
3
Examine the coordination between the two independent clauses that follow.
The second clause ('moisture enters when cracks begin to form') and the third clause ('this activates the bacteria...') are independent. They are correctly joined by the coordinating conjunction 'and'.
Joining two independent clauses with only a comma creates a comma splice, so coordination is required.

Key Concept

Subordination and Coordination
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Topics

Subordination and Coordination

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