3 Grammar Questions

<p>1.) Intimacy, love, and marriage are three (different, if interrelated,) subjects.
(A) different, if interrelated, subjects
(B) interrelated subjects, being, however, different
(C) different subjects, whereas they are interrelated
(D) different subjects when interrelated
(E) subjects that are different although being interrelated</p>

<p>Answer: A
My Question: Different and interrelated are kind of the opposite, so how can this sentence be correct as written? I put choice C as the answer. Why is this wrong and A correct?</p>

<p>2.) Storing bread in the refrigerator delays drying and the growth of mold but increases the rate at which the bread loses flavor.</p>

<p>Answer: No Error
My Question: How is "drying" and "growth" parallel?</p>

<p>3.) During the nineteenth century, Greek mythology acquired renewed significance when both poets and painters turned to the ancient myths for subject matter.</p>

<p>Answer: No error
My Question: Isn't the "when both poets..." wrong? Isn't "when" only supposed to refer to time?</p>

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<p>Whereas is used incorrectly in C.
Here is an explanation by crazybandit explaining why A is correct:

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<p>I think drying is used as a noun here. Gerunds can act as a noun.</p>

<p>Ex. Swimming is easy.</p>

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<p>I’m not really understanding your question… Can you give me an example of how you would use “when”?</p>

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<p>Would you say that a brother and a sister are different? Are they interrelated? </p>

<p>A more closely approximate example: Are Cantonese and Mandarin different, if interrelated, languages? </p>

<p>Clauses like this are so abundant that it’s hard to read an academic paper that doesn’t use one of them. Any subtle distinction can be introduced with such a clause, and I’m sure you’ve encountered innumerable analogs in your daily life. </p>

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<p>When you attach a gerund to a verb, it becomes a noun, e.g., Running is fun. This is how we can use the English language to use verbs as operators on other verbs, and to describe verbs without using redundant adverbial forms. Operations like this are a crucial component of linguistics that are seen almost without exception in every language. </p>

<p>Growth, too, is a noun. </p>

<p>If you list two nouns, there is no error in parallelism. </p>

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<p>“I was happy when I danced.”
“At nine o’clock, when the lights were low, the Grecians carved their urns.”
“Five days ago, I got really angry when my teacher returned my grammar test with a failing grade.”</p>

<p>These must be incorrect, eh? After all, “when” refers to time.</p>

<p>Do you see why this is not a sensible argument?</p>

<p>Storing is gerund, a ing word acting as a noun. The sentence is parallel, “Storing … delays drying … increases the rate”.</p>

<p>1.) Intimacy, love, and marriage are three (different, if interrelated,) subjects.
(A) different, if interrelated, subjects
(B) interrelated subjects, being, however, different
(C) different subjects, whereas they are interrelated
(D) different subjects when interrelated
(E) subjects that are different although being interrelated</p>

<p>The reason C is wrong is because “whereas they are interrelated” is not concise.</p>

<p>2.) Storing bread in the refrigerator delays drying and the growth of mold but increases the rate at which the bread loses flavor.</p>

<p>“Drying” is used as a gerund (a verbal used as a noun) so it is parallel.</p>

<p>3.) During the nineteenth century, Greek mythology acquired renewed significance when both poets and painters turned to the ancient myths for subject matter.</p>

<p>“When” does reference to time. It tells ‘when’ Greek mythology ‘acquired’ poets and painters. “…when both poets and painters turned to the ancient myths for subject matter” is a dependent clause, which modifies an adjective or a verb.</p>

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<p>I think it’s just a wrong usage of whereas.</p>

<p>Jefferey, it is most definitely an incorrect usage of “whereas.”</p>

<p>Among the many factors that determine this is that “whereas” cannot, ever, be used to refer to the same elements it’s attempting to draw contrast with. </p>

<p>“I am happy, whereas I am…” will never end well. I don’t much care for Multiple Personality Disorder.</p>

<p>@JeffreyJung - I think your right <em>embarrassed</em> … should have payed more attention. :)</p>