SAT Grammar question

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1

<p>The sentence is:
Although George Washington and General Lafayette were great friends, they came from wide disparate backgrounds and had little common.</p>

<p>The correct revision is:
Although George Washington and General Lafayette were great friends, they came from (widely) disparate backgrounds and had little common.</p>

<p>Originally, when i saw this question i assumed that it was talking about the wide AND disparate backgrounds, rather than widely disparate. </p>

<p>Is there a way to tell whether or not it's an adjective describing a noun, or an incorrectly conjugated adverb? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Paired adjectives have to be separated by commas. Compare “A tall, gangly figure appeared behind the tourists.” with “They came from wide disparate backgrounds.” There’s no comma in the second sentence.</p>

3

<p>I was thinking the same thing, but there’s another sentence that says:
The great ancient city of Tenochtitlan was a repository of customs, images, and practices.</p>

<p>This one has no comma between great and ancient, yet it was considered correct as is.</p>

4

<p>“Widely” is an adverb modifying “disparate.”</p>

<p>How disparate? Widely disparate.</p>

<p>Backgrounds aren’t really wide.</p>

5

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<p>“Great” modifies “ancient city.”</p>

<p>Not sure whether I’m helping…</p>

6

<p>“The great ancient city of Tenochtitlan was a repository of customs, images, and practices.”</p>

<p>In this sentence, i think, “great” is modifying the whole phrase “ancient city of Tenochtitlan,” so you don’t need a comma.</p>