<p>According to no (lesser of an authority than) Parkman, the most momentous event in the history of colonial North America was the expulsion of the French.
A. Lesser of an authority than
B. Lesser an authority such as
C. Less an authority as
D. Less of an authority than was (i picked this one)
E. Less an authority than (correct answer)</p>
<p>Why is it E?</p>
<p>An iceberg is produced when a glacier meets the (sea; the thickness of the iceberg, which is dependent) initially at least, on the thickness of the part of the glacier from which it broke off.
A. the same as above in parenthesis (i picked this one)
B) sea, the thickness of the iceberg depends
C. sea, the thickness of the iceberg depending (correct answer)
D. sea; with the thickness of the iceberg that depends
E. sea, with the thickness the iceberg has that depends</p>
<p>Why is it C? When can you leave a sentence with a comma to adjoin a dependent clause?</p>
<p>With its 13, 677 islands displayed (like jewels) on an exquisite necklace (suspending) between Asia and Australia, the Republic of Indonesia (remains) one of the most beatiful and (diverse) nations on Earth. (no error)</p>
<p>I picked A (like jewels) but the answer is B (suspending)..why? I thought that when you use words of comparision (like, for example) you have to compare the nouns, not the action, which in this case it would be the "jewels ...suspending"</p>
<p>(Many of) Claude Monet's paintings were (inspired from) the elaborate gardens the painter (began) constructing (when he was) forty-two years old.
I picked E, but it was B (inspired from) ....Obviously this is an idiom error but what is the correct preposition that belongs with inspired?</p>
<p>1#
I cannot explain this well, but to me, choice A is unnecessarily wordy and awkward. Choice E corrects that.</p>
<p>2#
Let someone better than me explain this.</p>
<p>3#
It should be “suspended”. The word “suspended” is describing the necklace. It certainly sounds awkward to say “suspending necklace”.</p>
<p>4#
“inspired by”</p>
<p>did u mistype e? i sounds like it should be less of an authority.</p>
<p>1) It’s unidiomatic to use lesser here, so A and B are out. Less necessitates the use of the word than, so C is out. E is the more clear and concise choice of the remaining two, so it is the answer.</p>
<p>2) A semicolon cannot be used here because everything from “the thickness” on is not a complete sentence. A, D, and E are gone. B is incorrect because the use of the verb depends makes the second part of the sentence an independent clause so a semicolon, not a colon, would have to be used.</p>
<p>3) Suspending should be suspended.</p>
<p>4) Should be “inspired by.”</p>
<p>@cs12345------Im positive e is the way it was written…Trust me, had e been written “Less of an authority” i would’ve picked that one.</p>
<p>@JAmesford—Thank you so much…it makes sense. I’m not a native speaker, so its understandable i didn’t get the inspired by answer.
So a semicolon is only used for an independent clause?</p>
<p>1) “less” describes something lower in importance etc while “lesser” describes something even lower…there is only one comparison between Parkman and someone else (not named) - one is no less than the other in authority. You would say “no greater a man” but the “er” is already implied in “less” - 2 is less than 3, 3 is greater than 2 - “lesser” would imply something more (to illustrate how ridiculous it sounds: “greaterer”)</p>
<p>the “of an” in “lesser of an” is also unwarranted because “less” already implies the “of ____” as in one definition “of lower rank.” and it’s an adjective anyway</p>
<p>2) You put the comma after the very moment the sentence could stand on its own (in general), meaning if you ended it with a period it would make sense…</p>
<p>An iceberg is produced when a glacier meets the sea,</p>
<p>you then continue by describing some part of the sentence (commonly a noun)…</p>
<p>the thickness of the iceberg depending…on…</p>
<p>@crazybandit, don’t you put a semicolon after the sentence could stand on its own? Not a comma? Like what Jamesford said.</p>
<p>No, jamesford said:</p>
<p>“A semicolon cannot be used here because everything from “the thickness” on is not a complete sentence.”</p>
<p>He was referring to the original sentence.</p>
<p>Then he said:</p>
<p>“B is incorrect because the use of the verb depends makes the second part of the sentence an independent clause so a semicolon, not a colon, would have to be used.”</p>
<p>He was referring to answer choice B.</p>
<p>B specifically needs a semicolon because both parts of the sentence can stand on its own, the second part being “…depends on…”</p>
<p>The original sentence specifically needs a comma because the second part of the sentence cannot stand on its own, it being “…depending on…”</p>
<p>Basically every time an answer choice warrants a comma, a semicolon is used, and vice versa, making it wrong (and tricky). Only E has correct usage. You can use a comma OR a semicolon depending on the wording. Keep in mind that these rules on commas/semicolons only apply to this specific situation (where a gerund, or word ending with -ing, is used to describe something):</p>
<p>you use a semicolon when everything after it can also stand on its own; this sentence is an example.</p>
<p>you use a comma when everything after it cannot stand on its own, this sentence being an example.</p>