(As) children mature, they develop (an independence) that their parents, who (have been) responsible for them since they were born, often find difficult (to accept).
The answer is E but how!!! “Independence” is an uncountable noun so how is it preceded by “an”!!! Can someone plz explain.
So is “develop independence” or “develop the independence” better?
Proceeded by “an” because independence starts with the letter “i”.
I would say that in this case, “independence” is a quality, and thus can be preceded by an article. Similarly, you might say that a student shows “a sophistication beyond his years” or “an ignorance of the facts.”
I will beat my usual drum here, and say that the best way to prepare for tests of English is to read a lot. A person who reads a lot will immediately recognize that it is quite normal to use “an independence” in that sentence, even if he can’t explain why.
Where is this question from?
Yeah, it’s a little weird, but abstract nouns that are almost always uncountable can be countable when used to mean “a TYPE of [noun].”
Ex:
Bob possessed a creativity rarely seen among members of the waste management team.
Ralph and Theodore shared a love that could not be made public in 1870’s London.
The reason that in this case “independence” is preceded by an article is that what is being described is a form, type, style, or version. Same thing would happen if the writer were to say, “An artist or musician who has become comfortable with a medium often exhibits a freedom of expression which was not possible as a novice.” [= a certain level of freedom, or difficult-to-categorize but easy-to-recognize freedom]
And Hunt is right. Even though this also happens to be my area, I didn’t learn this particular deviation formally, but by reading.
Here is why I asked where this question is from. It was my understanding that in the find-the-error section, wrong answers are wrong because they violate a grammar rule in the universe of SAT-tested grammar rules and not just because they said it a way that you might not have chosen to say it. So if this is a real SAT problem and the answer ISN’T “no error”, that is important information to have. But if it is not a real college board question, then it is (once again) a waste of study time.
It’s a real usage rule. “Grammar” is both convention and usage. The inclusion of the article in this case is a standard exception to the general rule because of the context (usage) presented. The test question you posted is not an equal choice of styles but a correct expression vs. an incorrect one.
I have never even heard of the concept of an uncountable noun. And yet, it was obvious to me that there was no error in the sentence posted by the OP. This is because I have seen that construction many, many times in written English. Learning rules is fine, but it’s more important to read. (I know this doesn’t help much if the test is next month.)
Hunt, they’re more commonly referred to as “count” and “non-count” nouns. (Units vs. no units.) Yes, it’s a matter of assimilation if one reads widely, but the terms especially come up for English Learners — however, increasingly for non-ESL students because of how little they’re expected to read and choose to read today.
The term “non-count nouns” is helpful. It made is easy for me to find this:
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/noncountnoun.htm
I could see how a new-to-English learner might have trouble with this. But can anyone find an example where such an error was the underlined section of an actual college board question? That would be worth knowing about.
But if the test IS next month (or even tomorrow!!!) it is better to study real examples of issues that the SAT really tests.
Further on the example in the OP:
The support for the fact that “independence” in the example as being used as a countable type is that the sentence contains two adjective clauses (in this case, a second clause inside the first). The overall clause is
that their parents
The second relative or adjective clause, within the full overall clause [“that…born”} is
who have been responsible for them since they were born
While the second clause is non-restrictive (inessential to the structure of the sentence), the first clause is restrictive, meaning that it is describing a particular type of independence, an “independence that their parents…” That kind of independence. Therefore, it is a countable, though abstract, noun, in this case.
As to your more recent question about the likelihood of appearing in the actual test, there’s no way of knowing for sure. I have access to a lot of recycled actual SAT’s, but no one pays me enough to sift through each of them to see if this usage question as ever been asked before.
Generally, if it’s been asked for, there is a high probability it will be asked again. ;
forgot to add:
…And a restrictive adjective clause limits the noun it describes, making it specific – further support for that noun’s being in the countable category.