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Difficulty: HardConjunctions and Clause Structure

Which connective correctly completes the sentence below while maintaining standard subordinating clause structure?

'The commission approved the capital expenditure request, ______ the audit panel submitted a certified risk assessment report.'

  1. inasmuch asAnswer
  2. B
    in spite
  3. C
    with regard
  4. D
    owing to that

Answer

The connective 'inasmuch as' correctly completes the sentence because it is a subordinating conjunction of reason that introduces a full finite clause.
The choice 'inasmuch as' serves as a formal subordinating conjunction meaning 'since' or 'because'. It correctly connects the main clause ('The commission approved...') to the subordinate finite clause ('the audit panel submitted...').

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the dependent clause following the blank space.
The element following the blank is a complete finite clause containing a subject ('the audit panel') and a conjugated verb phrase ('submitted').
Determining whether a finite clause or noun phrase follows dictates whether a conjunction or preposition is required.
2
Evaluate the syntactic function of each option choice.
'Inasmuch as' is a formal subordinating conjunction of cause/reason suitable for introducing finite clauses. 'In spite' and 'with regard' are truncated prepositional phrases missing mandatory prepositions ('of' and 'to'). 'Owing to that' is a non-standard construction in formal academic English.
Only a grammatically complete subordinating conjunction can join a subordinate finite clause to a main clause.
3
Confirm semantic alignment and grammatical correctness.
'Inasmuch as' logically establishes that the submission of the audit report was the reason/basis for approving the expenditure request.
The causal relationship between the approval and the report submission requires a conjunction meaning 'since' or 'because'.

Key Concept

Subordinating Conjunctions and Clause Structure
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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