<p>"American journalist Harriet Quimby, the first woman to pilot a plane across the English channel, doing it just nine years after the Wright brothers' first powered flight."</p>
<p>The two I narrowed it down to were:</p>
<p>C) Harriet Quimby became the first woman to have piloted a plane across the English Channel and did it</p>
<p>D) Harriet Quimby became the first woman to pilot a plane across the English Channel, accomplishing this feat</p>
<p>I chose C, but the answer is apparently D. Why?</p>
<p>Choice (D) is correct. It avoids the error of the original by using a complete verb (“became”).</p>
<p>Choice (A) creates a sentence fragment. It lacks a complete verb (the participle “doing” is not a complete verb).</p>
<p>Choice (B) creates a sentence fragment. The subordinating words (“who”) make two dependent clauses without a main clause.</p>
<p>Choice (C) involves an error in verb tense. The sentence shifts from simple past tense (“became”) to present perfect tense (“have piloted”) for no reason.</p>
<p>Choice (E) involves improper coordination. Two complete thoughts (“Harriet…Channel” and “the feat…flight”) are connected by only a comma, without the word “and” to introduce the second thought.</p>
<p>Just as Ireland has produced many famous writers and the Netherlands an abundance of famous painters, so Finland has provided a large number of famous architects.</p>
<p>Why the hell is it A, that is correct? I picked E, which happens to make the MOST sense to me… Choices are:</p>
<p>B) Finland provides famous architects ,and by large numbers
C) Finland’s contribution is to provide famous architects in a large number
D) and so then, for Finland, a large number of famous architects is provided
E) and like them Finland has provided a large number of famous architects</p>