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Question

Difficulty: HardSentence Fragments

The team of marine biologists spent three months tracking the migration patterns of humpback whales. Having documented their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors. They compiled the findings into a comprehensive study on ocean acoustics.

Which of the following choices is the most effective and grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    humpback whales. Having documented their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors. They
  2. B
    humpback whales; having documented their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors, they
  3. C
    humpback whales, they documented their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors, they
  4. humpback whales, documenting their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors before compilingAnswer

Answer

humpback whales, documenting their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors before compiling
The correct choice seamlessly integrates the modifying phrases into the main sentence. By changing 'Having documented' to 'documenting' and connecting it with a comma, the sentence correctly presents the team's actions without fragments or comma splices.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical components of the original underlined portion.
The phrase 'Having documented their behaviors with underwater cameras and acoustic sensors' lacks both a subject and a conjugated verb that can stand alone.
To determine whether the original sentence contains a sentence fragment.
2
Analyze the relationship between the surrounding clauses.
The first part ('The team... humpback whales') and the last part ('compiled the findings...') are parts of a logical sequence that describe the biologists' actions.
To understand how the elements of the sentence should be joined.
3
Evaluate the incorrect options for errors such as punctuation misuse or comma splices.
Using a semicolon before 'having' is incorrect because it separates a phrase rather than an independent clause. Inserting 'they documented...' creates a comma splice by joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
To eliminate grammatically flawed distractors.
4
Verify that the chosen option creates a single, coherent, and grammatically complete sentence.
By using the participial modifiers 'documenting' and 'before compiling', the sentence smoothly connects all ideas into one main clause.
To ensure the final choice has no errors and flows naturally.

Key Concept

Sentence Fragments
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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