Writing Section Question

<p>Can someone tell me why the answer to this is C and not D in the error identification section.</p>

<ol>
<li>That the country is now politically stable and economically robust and will almost certainly continue to do so is no longer seriously doubted.</li>
</ol>

<p>c = "to do so"
and d = second "is"</p>

<p>Thank you very much.</p>

<p>C is wrong because it says the country is “politically stable” and “economically robust”, which are adjectives describing the country. To say that it will “continue to DO so” means that those two statements would have to have been verbs with the country performing actions.</p>

<p>C is wrong because it should say “it will continue to BE so,” not that “it will continue to do so.” You can be politically stable and economically robust but you can’t continue to do politically stable and economically robust.</p>

<p>A good tip for figuring out errors is to apply similar grammar to simple sentences.</p>

<p>“That Jon is now fat and will continue to do so [in the future] is likely.”</p>

<p>Sound strange? </p>

<p>The infinitive of “is” is “to be.” </p>

<p>Can Jon be fat? Yes.</p>

<p>The infinitive of “do” is “to do.”</p>

<p>Can Jon do fat? No.</p>

<p>The “so” in the latter part of the sentence refers to adjectives describing “to be.” </p>

<p>To make the sentence correct you have to make the country do something (and continue to do so) or make the country politically stable and economically robust (and continue to be politically stable and economically robust).</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your informative and quick replies.I understand it now.</p>

<p>Can someone tell me why the anwer is B in the error identification section.</p>

<p>The habitat [in which ]Sequoia trees grow,[extends] from southern Oregon to Northern California,is [kept] damp year round by [heavy] seasonal rains ,cool coastal air ,and fog.</p>

<p>Isn’t the subject habitat and so extends is correct.Thank you very much.</p>

<p>This is a sentence error that you probably now. The SAT just just confused you by placing a lot of extra stuff in the sentence. Apply similar grammar to a simple sentence and you’ll see the error.</p>

<p>“The state in which K, extends from X to Z, is called P.”</p>

<p>“in which K” just describes “The state”.
“X to Z” are just two locations.
“P” is just a name.</p>

<p>Can you identify the error? A general rule is that when things are in comma sandwiches they SHOULD be acting as an adjective. “,extends from X to Z” describes the “town,” is NOT acting as an adjective, for it’s acting as a verb. You have two verbs (extends/is) going back to the same subject (the town) without any way to connect them. The error is B) because it’s the only verb referring back to the subject. </p>

<p>How could one fix this?</p>

<p>The habitat in which Sequoia trees grow, extending from southern Oregon to Northern California, is kept damp year round by heavy seasonal rains, cool coastal air, and fog.</p>

<p>In the fixed sentence, the comma sandwich is describing the habitat.</p>