Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumConjunctions and Clause Structure

Consider the sentence: 'The commission affirmed that _______ the lead researcher presented valid empirical data, the committee declined to approve the proposal.' Which word or phrase appropriately completes the subordinate clause to express concession?

  1. even thoughAnswer
  2. B
    despite
  3. C
    in spite of
  4. D
    regardless of

Answer

The subordinating conjunction 'even though' is the correct choice because it properly introduces a finite dependent clause.
The correct option 'even though' is a subordinating conjunction that properly introduces the finite subordinate clause 'the lead researcher presented valid empirical data' to express contrast or concession.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural nature of the element following the blank.
The phrase 'the lead researcher presented valid empirical data' contains a explicit subject ('the lead researcher') and a finite verb ('presented'), making it a finite clause.
Identifying whether the segment is a clause or a noun phrase dictates whether a conjunction or a preposition is needed.
2
Determine the grammatical category required to connect the clause.
A subordinating conjunction of concession is required to link the finite subordinate clause to the main sentence.
Prepositions cannot directly introduce finite clauses without a nominalizing element.
3
Evaluate the option choices against grammatical rules.
'Even though' is a subordinating conjunction, whereas 'despite', 'in spite of', and 'regardless of' are prepositional forms requiring noun phrases.
Selecting 'even though' maintains structural grammatical accuracy.

Key Concept

Distinction Between Concessive Conjunctions and Prepositional Connectives
Rate this question

Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

More questions from this topic