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Zorluk: OrtaParallel Structure

During the late Devonian period, early tetrapods transitioned from aquatic environments to terrestrial habitats, a shift that required significant anatomical adaptations. To survive on land, these organisms evolved by developing lungs for breathing air, transforming their muscular fins into sturdy limbs for support, and _______

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

  1. A
    to modify their skeletal systems for terrestrial locomotion
  2. modifying their skeletal systems for terrestrial locomotionCevap
  3. C
    they modified their skeletal systems for terrestrial locomotion
  4. D
    the modification of their skeletal systems for terrestrial locomotion

Cevap

modifying their skeletal systems for terrestrial locomotion
The sentence presents a list of three anatomical adaptations, introduced by the preposition 'by'. The first two items in the list are gerund phrases: 'developing lungs for breathing air' and 'transforming their muscular fins into sturdy limbs for support'. To maintain parallel structure, the third and final item must also be a gerund phrase. The choice starting with 'modifying' correctly provides this parallel structure.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Analyze the structure of the list in the sentence.
The sentence contains a list of actions introduced by the preposition 'by': 'developing lungs...' and 'transforming their muscular fins...'.
Understanding the grammatical form of the existing items is necessary to determine what is needed to maintain parallelism.
2
Identify the part of speech and pattern of the list items.
Both existing list items begin with gerunds ('developing' and 'transforming').
Parallel structure requires that items in a list or comparison share the same grammatical form.
3
Evaluate the answer choices for a matching gerund phrase.
The option beginning with 'modifying' is the only choice that starts with a gerund, making it grammatically parallel to the rest of the list.
Selecting the option with the matching gerund phrase satisfies the rules of parallel structure.

Anahtar Kavram

Parallel Structure
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Konular

Parallel Structure

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