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Question

Difficulty: MediumSentence Fragments

Although marine biologists have long studied the complex vocalizations of humpback whales, their understanding of the social structure of these pods is still in its infancy. Because these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, which makes long-term observation incredibly difficult.

Which of the following choices is the most grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    infancy. Because these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, which makes
  2. B
    infancy; because these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, making
  3. infancy, because these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, makingAnswer
  4. D
    infancy, these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, this makes

Answer

The correct option is the one that connects the dependent clause to the main clause with a comma, ending with 'infancy, because these animals often travel thousands of miles through open ocean, making'.
The correct choice properly resolves the sentence fragment by attaching the dependent adverbial clause beginning with 'because' to the independent clause. Using a comma and changing 'which makes' to the present participle 'making' allows the sentence to flow continuously and correctly without grammatical errors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion in the context of the sentence structure.
The text after the period begins with 'Because' and contains a relative clause 'which makes...', meaning it lacks an independent clause and is a sentence fragment.
Identifying that the original construction contains a sentence fragment allows us to eliminate the option to make no changes.
2
Evaluate the punctuation choices linking the clauses.
Using a semicolon is incorrect because the second part is not an independent clause. Using a comma followed by 'these animals... this makes...' creates a comma splice between two independent clauses.
Semicolons require independent clauses on both sides, while a comma cannot join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
3
Select the option that properly subordination-links the clauses.
Connecting the dependent clause to the main clause with a comma and using the participle 'making' eliminates the fragment and is grammatically correct.
This establishes a clear, logical relationship between the humpback whales' migration and the difficulty in observing them within a single, unified sentence structure.

Key Concept

Avoiding sentence fragments by properly connecting dependent clauses to independent clauses.
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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