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Question

Difficulty: MediumIllogical and Incomplete Comparisons

The following sentence contains an underlined portion:

The paint formulas of the Dutch Masters, who mixed pigments with linseed oil to achieve a unique translucency, differed significantly from modern artists, who relied on synthetic acrylics.

Which of the following options produces a grammatically correct sentence with a logical comparison?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    modern artists, they
  3. those of modern artists, whoAnswer
  4. D
    those of modern artists; who

Answer

The option containing 'those of modern artists, who' is the correct choice because it uses the plural pronoun 'those' to logically compare 'paint formulas' with the formulas of modern artists and employs the correct relative pronoun and punctuation.
The correct option resolves the illogical comparison by introducing the pronoun 'those' to refer back to the plural noun 'paint formulas.' This correctly aligns the comparison of the Dutch Masters' formulas to those of modern artists. Additionally, it preserves grammatical flow by using a comma and the relative pronoun 'who' to introduce a descriptive dependent clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two elements being compared in the sentence.
The sentence attempts to compare 'The paint formulas of the Dutch Masters' with 'modern artists'.
To maintain a logical comparison, the sentence must compare similar nouns: formulas to formulas, not formulas to people.
2
Select the correct plural demonstrative pronoun to represent the compared element.
Since 'paint formulas' is a plural noun, the pronoun 'those' must be used ('those of modern artists') to stand in for 'the paint formulas of modern artists'.
This establishes a parallel and logical comparison between the two sets of formulas.
3
Evaluate the punctuation and clause structure of the options.
A comma followed by 'who' correctly introduces a nonessential relative clause modifying 'modern artists', whereas a semicolon before 'who' incorrectly isolates a dependent clause, and using 'they' creates a comma splice.
This ensures the sentence is both logically compared and grammatically punctuated.

Key Concept

Illogical and Incomplete Comparisons
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Topics

Illogical and Incomplete Comparisons

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