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Difficulty: Very hardConjunctions and Clause Structure

Fill in the blank with the appropriate subordinating connective that correctly introduces the concessive clause with a fronted adjective.

Answer:__________ arduous the committee's parliamentary enquiry proved to be, the delegation presented its comprehensive report to the assembly on schedule.

Answer

However (or 'No matter how')
The connective 'However' (or 'No matter how') correctly completes the sentence because it functions as an adverbial subordinator capable of modifying a fronted adjective ('arduous') before the clause subject ('the committee's parliamentary enquiry') and verb ('proved to be'), conveying the degree of difficulty without breaking standard English syntax.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic structure of the subordinate clause following the blank
The clause opens with the fronted adjective 'arduous', followed by the complete noun phrase subject 'the committee's parliamentary enquiry' and the predicate verb phrase 'proved to be'.
Identifying that an adjective precedes the subject and verb dictates the specific connective required for a concessive clause.
2
Determine which concessive subordinator can directly modify a fronted adjective
The subordinator 'However' (or 'No matter how') is used in English to modify an adjective directly in the pattern 'However + adjective + subject + verb'.
Standard subordinating conjunctions such as 'although', 'even though', or 'whereas' require standard word order ('Although the enquiry was arduous...'), whereas 'however' governs fronted adjectives or adverbs.

Key Concept

Concessive Clause Structure with Fronted Adjectives
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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