Writing Questions !

Test Preparation SAT Preparation
1
  1. {Higher insurance rates have risen to force} prospective home-buyers to reexamine their budgets.

(A) Higher insurance rates have risen to force.
(B) A rise in higher insurance rates have forced.
© A raise in higher insurance rates has forced.
(D) Higher insurance rates have forced.
(E) Higher insurance rates having forced.

  1. The Cherokee silversmith and painter George Gues, known as sequoyah, devised a writing system for his people’s {language that some have called a virtually perfect alphabet,} with a symbol for every distinct sound.

(A) Language that some have called a virtually perfect alphabet,
(B) Language, which some having called it a virtually perfect alphabet.
© Language that some, calling a virtually perfect alphabet,
(D) Language, being what some called a virtually perfect alphabet.
(E) Language, some called it a virtually perfect alphabet.

*Please Explain

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1: D. First, exclude the redundancy of “higher” and any form of “rise.” The leaves D and E. E won’t work because the sentence requires a finite verb – that is, one that gets conjugated to indicate person and time.

2: A. B and C create clauses without finite verbs (see above). E is a comma splice. You should be able to exclude those very easily. D creates a dangling participle. The sense of “being” creates the impression that it modifies “language,” but that’s not the way verbs work. “Being” has to modify the subject of the previous clause (“Gues”) but that doesn’t fit with the meaning. The sentence rambles so much that you might think A is incorrect – that maybe a non-restrictive “which” clause is required – but it actually is OK. It’s just a bad sentence.