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Difficulty: HardSentence Fragments

During the Middle Ages, crop rotation systems significantly increased food production in Europe, especially after the introduction of the three-field <u>system. Which allowed</u> farmers to leave only one-third of their land fallow each year, rather than half.

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

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    system, this allowed
  3. C
    system; which allowed
  4. system, which allowedAnswer

Answer

system, which allowed
The correct answer correctly attaches the dependent relative clause starting with 'which' to the main independent clause using a comma. This resolves the sentence fragment while maintaining proper punctuation for a non-essential relative clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion and the surrounding text to determine if it forms a complete sentence.
The clause starting with 'Which allowed' is a dependent relative clause that lacks a main independent subject-predicate structure. Separated by a period, it stands alone as a sentence fragment.
A dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence because it does not express a complete thought.
2
Evaluate the choices to find a version that connects the dependent clause to the main clause without creating punctuation errors.
Using a comma followed by the relative pronoun 'which' properly connects the non-restrictive relative clause to the preceding independent clause.
Non-restrictive relative clauses must be attached to the independent clause they modify using a comma.
3
Verify that other options introduce grammatical errors.
Replacing the period with a comma and 'this' results in a comma splice, while using a semicolon before 'which' creates a semicolon fragment.
Independent clauses cannot be joined with just a comma, and semicolons can only join two independent clauses.

Key Concept

Sentence Fragments
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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