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Question

Difficulty: MediumConjunctions and Clause Structure

Fill in the blank with the appropriate subordinating conjunction that correctly completes the concessive clause in the sentence below.

Answer:Difficult 【as】 the final examination appeared to the graduating students, every candidate in the honors class managed to pass with distinction.

Answer

as
The word 'as' (or 'though') correctly completes the inverted concessive clause structure. In formal English syntax, placing an adjective at the beginning of a clause followed by 'as' or 'though' creates a concessive relationship meaning 'although it was difficult'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic structure of the sentence opening.
The sentence begins with a fronted predicate adjective ('Difficult') preceding the blank and the subject-verb clause ('the final examination appeared').
When a complement or adjective is fronted to express contrast or concession, specific subordinating conjunctions are required.
2
Identify the required conjunction for fronted adjective concession.
The conjunctions 'as' or 'though' follow a fronted adjective to form a concessive clause equivalent in meaning to 'Although the final examination appeared difficult...'.
Standard English grammar uses the pattern 'Adjective + as / though + Subject + Verb' to indicate concession.

Key Concept

Concessive clause inversion using 'Adjective + as / though + Subject + Verb'
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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