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Difficulty: Very hardSentence Fragments

For centuries, naturalists in temperate forests documented the eerie glow of 'foxfire,' a phenomenon caused by bioluminescent fungi that grow on decaying wood. Although early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces, believing that the faint green illumination was the work of woodland spirits. Modern mycologists have identified the biochemical reaction responsible for the glow: luciferin, a light-emitting compound, is oxidized in the presence of the enzyme luciferase.

Which choice most effectively corrects the underlined portion to ensure the passage is grammatically complete?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    Early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces; believing that the faint green illumination was the work of woodland spirits.
  3. Early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces, believing that the faint green illumination was the work of woodland spirits.Answer
  4. D
    Early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces, they believed that the faint green illumination was the work of woodland spirits.

Answer

Early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces, believing that the faint green illumination was the work of woodland spirits.
The correct option removes the subordinating conjunction 'Although' to establish a complete independent clause. This main clause is then grammatically modified by the subsequent participial phrase, forming a complete and correct sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion to identify if it is a complete sentence.
The sentence begins with the subordinating conjunction 'Although,' which subordinates the main subject-verb pair ('foresters attributed') and turns the entire clause into a dependent clause. Since no independent clause follows in the sentence, it is a fragment.
A complete sentence requires at least one independent clause to express a complete thought.
2
Evaluate the choices to find one that creates an independent clause.
Removing 'Although' changes the first clause into an independent clause ('Early foresters attributed this light to supernatural forces') that can stand alone. The participial modifier 'believing...' is correctly attached using a comma.
Eliminating the subordinating conjunction allows the main clause to function as the independent foundation of the sentence.
3
Verify that other options do not introduce new grammatical errors.
The option with a semicolon creates a fragment because 'believing...' is not independent. The option with 'they believed' creates a comma splice because it connects two independent clauses with only a comma.
Ensuring the selected choice is free of alternative errors like comma splices and semicolon fragments confirms its correctness.

Key Concept

Correcting sentence fragments by identifying subordinating conjunctions that make clauses dependent, and ensuring that every sentence contains at least one independent clause.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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