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Question

Difficulty: Very hardSentence Fragments

The following passage is an excerpt from an essay about urban planning.

[1] The primary challenge facing the architectural firm was not the zoning restrictions or the budget limitations. But rather the community's resistance to the modern design, which many residents felt clashed with the historic character of the neighborhood. [2] In response, the lead architect proposed a series of public forums to address these concerns directly.

Which of the following options represents the most effective way to revise the underlined portion of the sentence to ensure that the passage is grammatically correct?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    limitations; but rather
  3. limitations, but ratherAnswer
  4. D
    limitations, the community resisted

Answer

limitations, but rather
The correct option resolves the sentence fragment by replacing the period with a comma. This joins the coordinating prepositional phrase ('but rather the community's resistance...') to the preceding independent clause, completing the parallel 'not... but rather' comparison within a single grammatically correct sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion and the surrounding sentence structure.
The sentence ending in 'limitations' is complete, but the subsequent sentence beginning with 'But rather' lacks a subject and a finite verb, making it a sentence fragment.
To identify the grammatical error in the original passage.
2
Evaluate the relationship between the two parts of the sentence.
The passage presents a contrast using the correlative construction 'not [X] but rather [Y]', which requires the two elements to be contained within the same sentence.
To determine the appropriate grammatical connection between the contrasting elements.
3
Compare the punctuation options to connect the clauses correctly.
A comma is the correct punctuation mark to join these elements, whereas a semicolon would create a fragment and a period leaves the fragment unresolved.
To select the option that avoids both fragments and comma splices.

Key Concept

Sentence Fragments
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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