<p>Hello. On page 150 of the second edition in the blue book...
"Scientists predict technological changes in the next century, they will be as dramatic as was the development of the transcontinental railroad in the last century." Underline is from "century, they" to "as was".</p>
<p>The key says the the underlined portion should be replaced with "century as dramatic as". Why is this correct? I sort of see it, but I think that for the meaning that the CollegeBoard wants, the wording is horrible. </p>
<p>The way I saw it was "Scientists predict THAT technological changes in the next century." I think that they meant "Scientists predict THAT THERE WILL BE technological changes". </p>
<p>I think that the sentence is horribly worded due to its missing necessary words. </p>
<p>The original sentence is linking two different ideas and needs a semicolon after ‘century’ to be grammatically correct. Remember though, for the SAT, the wording or “style,” if you will, of the sentence does not matter as long as it is grammatically correct.</p>
<p>(2) Scientists predict technological changes in the next century.</p>
<p>(3) Scientists predict technological changes in the next century that are as dramatic as was the development of the transcontinental railroad in the last century.</p>
<p>(4) Scientists predict technological changes in the next century as dramatic as was the development of the transcontinental railroad in the last century.</p>
<p>The omission of “that are” from (3) to (4) is standard: I drink cold water and I drink water cold mean the same thing as I drink water that is cold; It’s a rock as large as a building means the same thing as It’s a rock that is as large as a building.</p>
<p>The problem with the original sentence (A) is the same problem that the construction I drink water, it is cold has. You change the comma and the independent clause “it is cold,” which can’t follow a comma in this context (it could follow a semicolon), to an adjective, “cold,” or a relative clause, “that is cold.”</p>