Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumParallel Structure

In the late nineteenth century, many pioneering female journalists found that they could establish their careers by writing under pseudonyms, reporting from overseas conflict zones, and they investigated municipal corruption in major cities.

Which choice best replaces the underlined portion to maintain a parallel structure in the sentence?

  1. A
    they investigated
  2. investigatingAnswer
  3. C
    to investigate
  4. D
    investigations of

Answer

investigating
The correct answer is 'investigating' because it is a gerund phrase ('investigating municipal corruption in major cities') that matches the grammatical format of the other two elements in the series ('writing under pseudonyms' and 'reporting from overseas conflict zones'), which are also gerund phrases.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the items in the list and their grammatical structures.
The preposition 'by' introduces a list of three actions: 'writing under pseudonyms' (gerund phrase) and 'reporting from overseas conflict zones' (gerund phrase).
To maintain parallel structure, all items in a list governed by the same preposition must share the same grammatical form.
2
Analyze the underlined portion to see if it matches the established pattern.
The underlined portion 'they investigated' is a clause (subject + verb), which does not match the gerund structure of the first two list items.
Identifying the grammatical mismatch highlights the structural error that needs correction.
3
Select the choice that uses the gerund form to make the third item parallel.
The choice 'investigating' is a gerund, which matches 'writing' and 'reporting' perfectly.
Using the gerund form completes the list with a consistent, parallel grammatical structure.

Key Concept

Parallel structure in lists requires all items in a series to share the same grammatical form (e.g., all gerunds, all infinitives, or all clauses).
Rate this question

Topics

Parallel Structure

More questions from this topic