<p>I've posted these questions again because i didn't understand anything from the last thread
please explain more i got number 2 and 3 wrong
1- [Although both A] birds are known for [their distinctive B]
songs,but the rufous songlark has a [sweeter C] song
[than has D] the brown songlark.E</p>
<p>Answer: A </p>
<p>I chose A,but what should it become rather than "Although both" should be replaced by
"Brown songlark"
choice B would've been wrong if it had the pronoun "its" number agreement
choice C would've been wrong if it were that prosaic phrase "more sweeter"
[An odd friendship] in certain aspects, she being an outdoor enthusiast and he a dedicated bookworm.
a-
b-As an odd friendship
c-Their friendship being odd
d-Theirs was an odd friendship
e-having a friendship that was somewhat odd</p>
<p>3-The island of Madagascar,off the coast of Africa,is the habitat of more then 200,000 species of plants and [animals,many are not found anywhere] else on the planet.
a-
b-animals;many, not found anywhere
c-animals; of which man are not found anywhere
d-animals,many found nowhere
e- animals, finding many nowhere</p>
<p>also this one
4-in addition to scientific talent, Santiago Ramon y Cajal had artistic talent,[as is evidenced by the excellent drawings] in his papers about the nervous system.
a-
b-which the excellent drawings are seen
c- the excellent drawings as evidence, appearing
e-to be evidenced of in the excellent drawings
for this one, choice A seems awkward than correct
I felt that the phrase “evidenced by” was a wrong idiom ? :S</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Since no option is given to replace the word “but” in the sentence about the songbirds, you need a version that works with that. Therefore, you don’t want “Although” to start the sentence out. A construction that says “Although blah blah blah, yet dah dah dah,” is fine. A construction that says “Although blah blah blah, dah dah dah,” is also fine. One would not say “Although blah blah blah, but dah dah dah.” Generally, a clause that starts with “but” gives a contradiction or exception to the clause that precedes it. A clause that starts with “although” indicates that the clause that follows will be a contradiction or exception. So I can’t think of a case where both could be used correctly in a sentence, without a third clause or something intervening.</p></li>
<li><p>You can’t start the sentence with “An odd friendship” if it’s followed by a comma and “she.” With this construction, “An odd friendship” would have to be an appositive of “she,” i.e., another way of designating her. Obviously, she is not a friendship. Converting the opening to “As an odd friendship” does not get around this problem. If you choose “Their friendship being odd,” aside from the fact that this is an awkward construction in itself, you now have no main verb in the sentence. “Being” is not a main verb. The same is true with the construction that starts out with “Having.” Choice d works, since it is a complete clause, and then the rest of the sentence is a participial phrase modifying it.</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li> First, watch out for the distinction between “then” and “than.” This might just be a typo in your copying, but they mean quite different things, and you want “than” in this case.
As written, the sentence involves the “dreaded comma splice.” This is joining two complete, independent clauses [subject and stand-alone verb] with just a comma. Can’t do that!<br></li>
</ol>
<p>A semi-colon indicates that the material following it will be a complete clause. That is not the case in b. Also, what is the comma doing between many and not? Nothing, actually–it shouldn’t be there. In fact, if you still had the comma ahead of many and no comma after it, the sentence would be fine (though that is not an option).</p>
<p>After a semi-colon, you need an independent clause. Starting out with “of which many” means that you have a dependent clause. It’s a little awkward also, but if there were a comma, it would be grammatically permissible (just not very good).</p>
<p>Choice d is correct. It involves a participial phrase modifying “animals.”</p>
<p>Choice e is not right, because the animals are being found, rather than doing the finding. In its position, “finding” would have to modify “animals.”</p>
<p>“Evidenced by” is correct, though you may not have encountered it in your reading. It is a standard form. The other choices seem very “hashy” to me, and I don’t think they should be tempting you.</p>