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Question

Difficulty: MediumSentence Fragments

The following passage is an excerpt from an article about the history of technology.

Discovered in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, the Antikythera mechanism has puzzled historians for more than a century. Because it contains dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles. This ancient device is now considered the world's oldest analog computer.

Which choice is the best revision of the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Containing dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles, thisAnswer
  3. C
    Containing dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles; this
  4. D
    It contains dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles, this

Answer

The correct answer is the option that replaces the fragment with a modifying participial phrase followed by a comma and the demonstrative pronoun 'this' ('Containing dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles, this').
The correct option replaces the dependent clause fragment with a modifying participial phrase ('Containing dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles') and connects it to the independent clause with a comma before the subject ('this'). This successfully integrates the information into a single grammatically correct sentence where the participial phrase modifies 'ancient device'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the underlined portion to determine if it is a complete sentence.
The clause 'Because it contains dozens of intricate bronze gears that calculated astronomical cycles' starts with the subordinating conjunction 'Because' and lacks a main independent clause, which makes it a sentence fragment.
Identifying fragments requires checking if the punctuated unit can stand alone as a complete thought with a subject and a verb.
2
Evaluate the choices to see which option connects the fragment grammatically to the subsequent independent clause.
The option using 'Containing' transforms the fragment into a participial phrase that modifies 'this ancient device' and correctly links it using a comma.
Participial phrases can introduce sentences when separated by a comma from the independent clause they modify.
3
Verify that other options do not introduce new grammatical errors.
The option with the semicolon creates a punctuation error, and the option with 'It contains...' creates a comma splice.
Semicolons must connect two independent clauses, and commas alone cannot join two independent clauses.

Key Concept

A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence punctuated as if it were a complete one. It often lacks a subject, a verb, or a main independent clause, and can be fixed by linking it to an adjacent independent clause.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Sentence Fragments

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