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Difficulty: Very hardSentence Fragments

The decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris in 1952 proved that the Mycenaeans spoke an early form of Greek; the script's precursor, Linear A, remaining largely undeciphered because of the brevity of the surviving inscriptions and the lack of a bilingual text.

Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    Greek; the script's precursor, Linear A, remaining largely undeciphered
  2. Greek; the script's precursor, Linear A, remains largely undecipheredAnswer
  3. C
    Greek, the script's precursor, Linear A, remains largely undeciphered
  4. D
    Greek. The script's precursor, Linear A, which remains largely undeciphered

Answer

Greek; the script's precursor, Linear A, remains largely undeciphered
The correct option is the one that uses a semicolon to separate two complete, independent clauses and utilizes the finite verb 'remains' instead of the participle 'remaining'. Both 'The decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris in 1952 proved that the Mycenaeans spoke an early form of Greek' and 'the script's precursor, Linear A, remains largely undeciphered because of the brevity of the surviving inscriptions and the lack of a bilingual text' are independent clauses, so joining them with a semicolon is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clause structure of the original sentence.
The sentence contains two main clauses: the decipherment of Linear B proving that the Mycenaeans spoke early Greek, and Linear A remaining undeciphered.
Understanding the boundaries of each clause helps determine what punctuation and verb forms are grammatically required.
2
Analyze the second clause to see if it is independent.
In the original sentence, the phrase 'the script's precursor, Linear A, remaining largely undeciphered' has a participle ('remaining') rather than a finite verb, making it a fragment.
A complete sentence or independent clause must contain a subject and a finite verb.
3
Determine the correct punctuation to link the two independent clauses.
The first clause is independent. The second clause, when corrected to use the finite verb 'remains', is also independent. Two independent clauses can be joined using a semicolon or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction.
Using a semicolon is appropriate to link two closely related independent clauses, whereas using a comma alone results in a comma splice.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between independent clauses and fragments to choose proper punctuation and verb forms.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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