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Difficulty: HardConjunctions and Clause Structure

Which of the following options correctly completes the clause structure in the sentence below?

'The dean announced that ________ the faculty had published groundbreaking research, ________ it lacked sufficient laboratory equipment to conduct advanced clinical trials.'

  1. inasmuch as / —Answer
  2. B
    inasmuch as / but
  3. C
    in spite of / —
  4. D
    although / yet

Answer

inasmuch as / —
The choice 'inasmuch as / —' is correct because 'inasmuch as' functions as a subordinating conjunction that properly introduces the finite subordinate clause ('the faculty had published groundbreaking research'). In formal standard English syntax, a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction connects directly to the principal clause without an intervening coordinating conjunction such as 'but' or 'yet'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic structure of the dependent clause
The clause 'the faculty had published groundbreaking research' contains a subject and a finite verb, requiring a subordinating conjunction rather than a prepositional phrase.
Prepositional phrases like 'in spite of' cannot directly introduce finite clauses.
2
Evaluate conjunction pairing rules between the dependent and main clauses
When a dependent clause is introduced by a subordinating conjunction ('inasmuch as' or 'although'), the principal clause must follow directly without an additional coordinating conjunction ('but' or 'yet').
Using both a subordinating conjunction and a coordinating conjunction to link two clauses violates standard English sentence structure through redundant conjunction pairing.
3
Select the option that satisfies both grammatical requirements
The combination 'inasmuch as / —' correctly introduces the dependent clause and connects to the main clause without structural redundancy.
This establishes a grammatically sound complex sentence structure.

Key Concept

Subordinating Conjunctions and Redundant Conjunction Pairing in Clause Structure
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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