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Difficulty: MediumParallel Structure

To prepare for the deep-sea dive, the researchers calibrated the sonar equipment, checked the oxygen levels in the pressurized suits, and a final safety briefing was conducted.

Which choice most effectively maintains a parallel grammatical structure in the sentence?

  1. A
    and a final safety briefing was conducted
  2. and conducted a final safety briefingAnswer
  3. C
    and conducting a final safety briefing
  4. D
    , they conducted a final safety briefing

Answer

and conducted a final safety briefing
The option containing 'and conducted a final safety briefing' is correct because it uses the active past-tense verb 'conducted,' which matches the grammatical form of 'calibrated' and 'checked' established earlier in the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the existing list items in the sentence.
The first two items in the list of actions are 'calibrated' (past tense, active voice) and 'checked' (past tense, active voice).
Identifying the grammatical form of the existing items is necessary to determine the parallel structure required for the third item.
2
Evaluate the underlined portion for grammatical consistency.
The underlined phrase 'and a final safety briefing was conducted' uses the passive voice, which is not parallel to the active verbs 'calibrated' and 'checked'.
This step reveals the error in the original sentence, confirming that a change is needed.
3
Compare the options to find the one that matches the active past-tense verb form.
The option 'and conducted a final safety briefing' uses the past-tense active verb 'conducted', restoring parallel structure to the list.
Selecting this option ensures the sentence maintains parallel grammatical construction.

Key Concept

Parallel structure in lists requires all items in a series to share the same grammatical form (e.g., all past-tense verbs, all gerunds, or all noun phrases).
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Topics

Parallel Structure

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