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Question

Difficulty: HardParallel Structure

In his analysis of ancient Mediterranean trade networks, historian Marcus Aureli examines the economic motivations of early merchants. He argues that the rapid expansion of maritime routes during the late Roman Republic was driven not only by a growing domestic demand for exotic agricultural goods but also ______ stronger diplomatic ties with eastern provinces.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. by a strategic effort to establishAnswer
  2. B
    a strategic effort to establish
  3. C
    to make a strategic effort to establish
  4. D
    through a strategic effort to establish

Answer

by a strategic effort to establish
The correct answer maintains parallel structure by using a prepositional phrase starting with the preposition 'by' ('by a strategic effort to establish'). This matches the structure of the first element in the correlative conjunction 'not only... but also,' which is 'by a growing domestic demand for exotic agricultural goods.'

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical construction and the parallel elements in the sentence.
The sentence uses the correlative conjunction structure 'not only... but also.'
This correlative conjunction requires that the elements following 'not only' and 'but also' be grammatically parallel.
2
Determine the grammatical form of the first element.
The phrase following 'not only' is 'by a growing domestic demand for exotic agricultural goods,' which is a prepositional phrase starting with the preposition 'by.'
This establishes that the element following 'but also' must also be a prepositional phrase starting with 'by' to maintain parallel structure.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that matches this grammatical structure.
The phrase 'by a strategic effort to establish' begins with the preposition 'by' followed by a noun phrase, matching the structure of the first element.
Only this option correctly maintains the prepositional phrase structure required for parallelism in this sentence.

Key Concept

Parallel Structure with Correlative Conjunctions
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Parallel Structure

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