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Question

Difficulty: MediumSentence Fragments

Consider the underlined portion in the passage below:

In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 spacecraft to study the outer Solar System. Although the spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object. It continues to transmit valuable scientific data back to Earth.

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

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Although the spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object, itAnswer
  3. C
    The spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object, it
  4. D
    Although the spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object; it

Answer

Although the spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object, it
The correct option correctly joins the introductory dependent clause with the main independent clause using a comma. The word 'Although' at the start of the clause makes it dependent, and attaching it to the main clause resolves the sentence fragment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined text and identify the sentence structure error.
The clause 'Although the spacecraft has traveled farther from Earth than any other human-made object' starts with the subordinating conjunction 'Although' and is punctuated as a complete sentence. This makes it a sentence fragment because a dependent clause cannot stand alone.
Recognizing a sentence fragment is the first step to correcting punctuation and clause connection errors.
2
Evaluate the choices to find one that correctly connects the dependent clause to the subsequent independent clause.
Connecting the dependent clause to the main clause 'it continues to transmit...' using a comma resolves the fragment and forms a grammatically correct complex sentence.
An introductory dependent clause must be followed by a comma and joined to an independent clause.
3
Verify that incorrect choices are eliminated based on grammatical rules.
The choice that removes the subordinator and uses a comma creates a comma splice. The choice using a semicolon creates a semicolon fragment because a semicolon cannot follow a dependent clause.
Ensures that the selected answer is the only grammatically correct option.

Key Concept

Sentence Fragments and Clause Coordination
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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