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Difficulty: MediumEliminating Redundancy

The restoration project for the historic lighthouse initially began at the very start in the spring of 1999, but due to budget constraints, the work was not completed until 2004.

Which of the following choices is the best option for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    initially began at the very start in
  2. began inAnswer
  3. C
    began, it started in
  4. D
    initially beginning in

Answer

began in
The correct answer is the option that simply states the project 'began in' the spring. This choice successfully removes the redundant references to the start of the project ('initially' and 'at the very start') while maintaining the grammatical structure of the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the redundancy in the underlined segment.
The words 'initially,' 'began,' and 'at the very start' all mean the same thing, indicating that the sentence repeats the idea of beginning unnecessarily.
ACT English questions test for conciseness; expressing the same concept multiple times in one phrase is incorrect.
2
Evaluate the remaining choices for grammar and clarity.
The option containing 'began, it started in' is a comma splice, and 'initially beginning in' turns the main clause into a fragment by omitting a main verb.
Eliminating redundancy should not introduce new grammatical errors like comma splices or sentence fragments.
3
Select the most concise option that is grammatically correct.
The option 'began in' is the most direct, grammatically correct, and non-redundant choice.
This option expresses the intended meaning of when the project started using the minimum number of words necessary.

Key Concept

Eliminating Redundancy
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Eliminating Redundancy

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