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Question

Difficulty: MediumConjunctions and Clause Structure

Which connective correctly completes the concessive clause in the sentence below?

'______ hard the investigative panel tried to uncover the financial discrepancies, no conclusive evidence was presented before the session adjourned.'

  1. HoweverAnswer
  2. B
    Although
  3. C
    Whatever
  4. D
    Much as

Answer

The word 'However' correctly completes the sentence by modifying the fronted adverb 'hard' to form a concessive adverbial clause.
The connective 'However' is correct because when introducing a concessive clause of degree, 'however' precedes and modifies an adverb or adjective in the structure 'however + adjective/adverb + subject + verb', meaning 'no matter how hard'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the subordinate clause following the blank space.
The clause opens with a fronted adverb ('hard') followed by the subject ('the investigative panel') and verb ('tried').
Identifying the fronted element determines which class of subordinating connective is required.
2
Evaluate the grammatical requirements of concessive subordinators.
The subordinator 'however' acts as an adverbial degree modifier capable of pre-modifying fronted adverbs or adjectives ('however + adverb/adjective + subject + verb').
Other concessive subordinators like 'although' or 'much as' require standard subject-verb word order without pre-modifying an isolated fronted adverb.

Key Concept

Concessive Clause Structure with Fronted Modifiers
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Topics

Conjunctions and Clause Structure

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