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Question

Difficulty: HardComparatives and Superlatives

Complete the sentence comparing the arguments of two historical documents by writing the correct comparative modifier for 'detailed' in the first blank, the correct comparative form of 'strong' in the second blank, and the pronoun that prevents an illogical comparison in the third blank.

Answer:Of the two historical documents analyzed by the committee, the second draft's argument proved to be the 【more】 detailed, presenting a much 【stronger】 thesis than 【that】 of the first draft.

Answer

more, stronger, that
The sentence compares exactly two documents, requiring the comparative modifier 'more' rather than the superlative 'most'. The one-syllable adjective 'strong' is correctly converted to its comparative form 'stronger'. Finally, the singular demonstrative pronoun 'that' is required to refer back to the singular noun 'thesis', thereby preventing an illogical comparison between the thesis of the second draft and the first draft as a whole.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the number of items being compared to select between comparative and superlative forms.
Two documents are compared ('the two historical documents... the second draft... than... the first draft'), requiring comparative forms.
Comparative forms are used when comparing exactly two items, whereas superlative forms are used for three or more.
2
Select the correct comparative modifier for 'detailed' in the first blank.
Write 'more'.
Even though the blank is preceded by the definite article 'the', the comparison is between exactly two documents, so the comparative 'more' must be used instead of the superlative 'most'.
3
Form the comparative of the adjective 'strong' for the second blank.
Write 'stronger'.
'Strong' is a one-syllable adjective, which forms its comparative by adding the suffix '-er'. Using 'more strong' is incorrect.
4
Identify the pronoun needed to make the comparison logical in the third blank.
Write 'that'.
Without the pronoun 'that', the sentence would illogically compare the 'thesis' of the second draft directly to the 'first draft' (a whole document) rather than to the first draft's thesis. The singular pronoun 'that' refers back to 'thesis'.

Key Concept

Using comparative forms when comparing two entities, and using representative pronouns to prevent illogical comparisons.
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Topics

Comparatives and Superlatives

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