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Difficulty: HardParallel Structure

Early twentieth-century conservationist Aldo Leopold argued that wilderness preservation was necessary not just for protecting biodiversity, but because it would foster a deeply ethical relationship between humans and the land.

Which of the following options best replaces the underlined portion to maintain parallel structure in the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. for fosteringAnswer
  3. C
    to foster
  4. D
    fostered

Answer

The option that reads 'for fostering' is the correct answer.
The correct option correctly uses the prepositional phrase with a gerund to match the structure of the preceding phrase, maintaining parallel structure across the conjunctions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the parallel markers and the first element in the sequence.
The sentence uses the comparative parallel structure 'not just... but...'. The phrase immediately following 'not just' is 'for protecting biodiversity', which is a prepositional phrase consisting of the preposition 'for' and the gerund 'protecting'.
Parallel structure requires elements joined by coordinating or correlative conjunctions to share the same grammatical form.
2
Determine the grammatical structure required for the second element in the sequence.
The element following 'but' must match the first element, meaning it must be a prepositional phrase starting with the preposition 'for' followed by a gerund.
Matching the grammatical structure maintains balance and readability in the sentence.
3
Evaluate the options to find the matching grammatical structure.
The phrase 'for fostering' uses the preposition 'for' and the gerund 'fostering', making it parallel to 'for protecting'.
This establishes grammatical consistency across the conjunctions.

Key Concept

Parallel structure requires that items in a series, list, or linked by coordinating or correlative conjunctions share the same grammatical form.
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Topics

Parallel Structure

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