<p>Sinclair Lewis was the first American writer to win the
Nobel Prize for literature, and this award is not for a
single book but for all of an author's literary
achievements.
(A) literature, and this award is
(B) literature, whose award is
(C) literature, the award as being
(D) literature, this award is
(E) literature, an award given</p>
<p>I chose the correct answer (E), but I'm just wondering what makes (B) incorrect?</p>
<hr>
<p>The Anasazi Indians settled in the Southwest in the first century but, perhaps because of the gradual drying of the climate, eventually abandoned their settlements.</p>
<p>(A) century but, perhaps because of the gradual drying
of the climate, eventually abandoned their
settlements.
(E) century, however, their settlements were eventually
abandoned, perhaps because of the
gradual drying of the climate.</p>
<p>Why is the answer (A) and not (E)?</p>
<hr>
<p>Advances in seismology have led some scientists</p>
<p>to speculate that soon we will predict earthquakes</p>
<p>as accurate as we predict the weather. No error</p>
<p>Why is the answer (D)?
How is it used wrong??</p>
<hr>
<p>In the eighteenth century a simple method of musical
notation helped to make music more popular than in
any century.</p>
<p>What is wrong with "any century"?</p>
<hr>
<p>What would whose refer to? At best it’s odd usage, at worst it’s grammatically incorrect.</p>
<p>E would need a semicolon after century. As it is now, E is a run-on. </p>
<p>D would need an adverb, not an adjective, to modify predict, so it has to say “as accurately”.</p>
<p>Last one’s kinds cruel. Right now, it’s an illogical comparison - the 18th century counts as a century, so right now it’s circularly saying that the 18th century is more popular than itself. It should say “any other century”.</p>
<p>The villagers found the visitors equally as fascinating as their customs were mystifying.
(a) equally fascinating and their customs
(b) as fascinating as their customs were</p>
<p>Why is B correct and not A?</p>
<p>Why B is right is harder to explain. For A, equally fascinating compared to what? It’s illogical. Maybe someone else can explain why B is right. I know why, I just can’t think of how to articulate it.</p>
<p>can someone try to explain?</p>
<p>I’ll give it a shot, since no one else has. It’s an odd construction - a double parallel of sorts, I suppose? The visitors/fascinating is parallel to their customs/mystifying, with a few coordinating/conjoining words like “as” and “were”.</p>
<p>Second explanation attempt, for the mathematically inclined. I’m sure you’re familiar with the “as ____ as _<strong><em>” construction, e.g. “as cold as ice”, “as big as a whale”, etc. Here we have “…the visitors as fascinating as _</em></strong>” In the ____, instead of a single word, we’re putting a complete thought - “their customs were mystifying”. Think of it as substitution, in the mathematical sense, if you’re familiar with that concept.</p>
<p>I can’t explain why this works out grammatically and why it’s constructed as such, but… I had to try. Also, I don’t know why “equally” can’t be put in front of all of it. It doesn’t sound right if you say it out loud, but my English teacher always said never use “it doesn’t sound right” as any sort of justification.</p>
<p>Oh well, I tried my best. Can anyone expand on what I said/throw it out the window and correct me?</p>
<p>A is wrong because the sentence never states the thing that is equally as fascinating as the visitors. The “and” separates the rest of the sentence (the mystifying customs part), so the mystifying customs cannot be the other fascinating things. Think about the sentence simply saying “The villagers found the visitors equally as fascinating.” You’d be left thinking, “as fascinating as what?”.
I don’t know if there is a word for this, as I know nothing real about grammar. I simply have a well developed feel for it.</p>
<p>Elgecko, I don’t necessarily think putting “equally” in front would be wrong, but it would be redundant because the " as___ as___" construction already implies a comparison.</p>
<p>I don’t know if that makes sense or is right at all either but that’s how I thought about it. </p>
<p>And as elgecko said; I know English teachers don’t like this, but the answers that sound weird in your head are often wrong. I got a 36 on the English section of the ACT by eliminating all the weird sounding answers before thinking about which one could be correct, and usually all but the right answer sounded slightly off.</p>