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Question

Difficulty: HardSentence Fragments

The following passage contains an underlined portion.

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents, first discovered in 1977 near the Galápagos Rift, support thriving ecosystems in complete darkness. These communities, relying on chemosynthetic bacteria that convert toxic hydrogen sulfide into organic matter. This process forms the foundation of a food web entirely independent of sunlight.

Which of the following choices represents the most grammatically correct revision of the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. These communities rely on chemosynthetic bacteria that convert toxic hydrogen sulfide into organic matter. ThisAnswer
  3. C
    These communities, which rely on chemosynthetic bacteria that convert toxic hydrogen sulfide into organic matter; this
  4. D
    These communities rely on chemosynthetic bacteria that convert toxic hydrogen sulfide into organic matter, this

Answer

The option that changes the participle 'relying' to the finite verb 'rely' and uses a period to separate the two independent clauses.
The correct choice changes the participle 'relying' to the finite verb 'rely,' which provides the verb needed to make the first clause a complete independent sentence. It also uses a period to correctly separate this sentence from the next independent sentence starting with 'This process.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion to see if it forms a complete sentence.
The subject is 'These communities', but the only verb-like word in the clause is the participle 'relying', which cannot act as a main verb. This leaves the clause as an ungrammatical sentence fragment.
A complete sentence requires both a subject and a finite verb to express a complete thought.
2
Evaluate the choices to find which one corrects the fragment.
Changing the participle 'relying' to the finite verb 'rely' provides the necessary verb to make 'These communities rely on...' a complete independent clause.
The main clause must contain a finite verb to resolve the fragment.
3
Verify that the punctuation between the new independent clause and the next independent clause is correct.
Separating the two independent clauses with a period is grammatically correct. Joining them with a comma creates a comma splice, and using a semicolon after a dependent clause starting with 'which' creates a fragment.
Independent clauses must be separated by a period, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction with a comma.

Key Concept

Recognizing and correcting sentence fragments by ensuring clauses have finite verbs, and separating independent clauses with appropriate punctuation.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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