Construction Shift Question Answers and Explanations
Below you will find the answers and some explanations to the Construction Shift questions to help you understand why the answers are the correct ones. After each explanation, you will find links to websites that will help you practice the skill that each answer is challenging you to understand.(Please note that the sources used for Skill Practices I and II are Evelyn Farbman's A Writer's Guide: Sentence Sense website, Houghton Mifflin's E-library Student Resource Center site, Plain English Network, Augsburg College On-Line Writing Lab, HyperGrammar from the Writing Centre at the University of Ottawa, and Purdue University's Online Writing Lab)
1.The answer here is c.
Many students, having heard so many times that using the word "because" in a sentence is "bad" or wrong might be fooled with this one. Bottom line is that the choice with the word "because" is the best one because (there's that word again) it is the proper connecting word and results in much smoother and simpler sentence construction. Words like "because," "on account of," "by," and "being as" create dependent clauses. "Because" also works best for this example since it is more concise (note that with one word you get the same meaning as the others) and has the best "cause and effect" results. Below find some practice with the use of dependent clauses. 2.
The answer here is c.
Flipping the sentence around so that "Melody and lyrics" are in the front forces you into a situation of using a possessive. Since the "her songs" can go, the possessive here makes it easier to keep the same meaning. The other possible answer is b, but the meaning would be altered too much from the original. The most concise way then to create a new version would be Melody and lyrics in Ani Defranco's songs intricately intertwine. Notice "her" and "makes" are removed in this simpler construction. Below find some possessive practice activities. 3.
The answer here is c.
What's going on here is that "Unlike liquids" in the beginning forces you to put the words "solid objects" next. Why? Well, "Unlike liquids" describes nothing but "solid objects" which is the subject of the sentence. Introductory verbal phrases, which is what "Unlike liquids" is in this case, must modify the subject of the sentence. Therefore, the choice is down to two: c or d. The original sentence uses "cannot." As a result, the choice with the word "can" keeps to a closer meaning of the original. 4.
Correct! The answer here is b.
This is a tough one because the subject is so long. If you keep it simple in your mind, you'll realize that the subject is, when all is said and done, still "children." And the only word that's a natural fit after "children" in this sentence would be "told." Use "children" with the other choices and there's a good chance you'll hear the awkwardness. The phrase that follows children and complicates things forms a nonessential modifying clause. Below find some practice with that grammatical form. 5.
Correct! The answer here is b.
This one is about style and preserving the meaning of the original sentence with the most exactness. The original "if" statement presents a "cause and effect" situation. "Because" is the best word to use in the rewrite since it keeps that cause and effect relationship alive. Below see some pointers on dependent clauses, which often create "cause and effect" situations in writing. 6.
Correct! The answer here is a.
This one, as with number 5, is also about style and preserving the meaning of the original sentence with the most exactness, but this involves more thinking about the "cause and effect" relationship involving time. In the original, one event happens (the band playing) and then another (the real party starting) None of the other choices, "and . . .," "although . . .," "the band beginning . . ." preserve that time feature in the original. Again, the skill involves dependent clauses and their relationships with independent ones. See the skill practice links to number 5 to review these skills.
7.Correct! The answer here is d.
This kind of situation actually can create some amusing images. The rule is that an introductory phrase must modify the subject of a sentence. That being the case, the following word after "Listening in the park . . ." has to be someone that can listen; the words "no," "then," and "and," which begin answers a, b, and c can't listen--they have no ears. We can be certain that Alisa has ears though. See below for practice with introductory phrases. 8.
Correct! The answer here is b.
This presents the same situation as in number 7: the word "they" is needed after the introductory clause because the introductory clause refers to the hikers. But the added challenge here is that you need to know or sense that introductory dependent clauses need a comma to set them off from the main clause. See below for some practice with using commas. 9.
Correct! The answer here is b.
Sometimes sentences have ideas that are unequal. If one idea explains another, it is put in what's called a subordinate position or a "lesser" position. The "lesser" idea should be expressed in a subordinate clause. It is better style to place the subordinate clause at the beginning and when doing so a comma is needed as in questions number 8 above. See below for practice with subordinate clauses. 10.
Correct! The answer here is c.
The rewrite forces you to avoid using ambiguous or confusing references to "you." Also, it makes you think about the clearest way to say something. In this example, you need to grasp the logic that people don't have traffic jams; cars do. Doing so, helps you with the most coherent arrangement in the sentence. Below find practice with clarity and coherence in writing.