7/14/25
There are over 50,000 therapy dogs in the United States, and they’re becoming more popular in countries from Norway to Brazil. Trained and certified by a variety of organizations, hospitals and other facilities welcome these dogs and their handlers, who interact with patients.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Trained and certified by a variety of organizations, these dogs and their handlers interact with patients and are welcomed by hospitals and other facilities.
C. These dogs and their handlers, welcomed by hospitals and other facilities and trained and certified by a variety of organizations.
D. Welcomed by hospitals and other facilities, these dogs and their handlers being trained and certified by a variety of organizations.
(A) is incorrect because it contains a dangling modifier: the phrase Trained and certified by a variety of organizations must logically describe these dogs and their handlers, but the latter phrase does not appear immediately after the former. (C) is incorrect because it is a fragment: this answer does not contain a main clause that can stand on its own as a sentence. (D) is also a fragment because it contains a gerund (being) rather than a main verb. (B) corrects the dangling modification by placing these dogs and their handlers after the introductory phrase and does not introduce any new errors.
7/13/25
Like many successful authors of the nineteenth century, Washington Irving struggled against literary bootleggers. In England, some of his sketches were reprinted in periodicals without his permission, a legal practice since there was no international copyright law at the time. To prevent further piracy in Britain, Irving paid to have the first four American installments published as a single volume by John Miller in London.
Which of the following would NOT be an acceptable alternative to the underlined portion?
A. permission—a legal practice
B. permission; that practice was legal
C. permission, and a legal practice
D. permission, a practice that was legal
To answer this question, focus on whether information after the punctuation in each answer choice (dash, semicolon, comma) is a complete sentence because that factor determines what type of punctuation can and cannot be used. (A) is acceptable because a legal practice since there was no international copyright law at the time is a fragment, and a dash can correctly come before a fragment. (B) is acceptable because that practice was legal since there was no international copyright law at the time is a complete sentence, and a complete sentence must follow a semicolon. (D) is acceptable because a practice that was legal since there was no international copyright law at the time is a fragment, which can correctly follow a comma. Although (C) contains a comma as well, that comma is followed by and — and comma + and = period. If you plug in a period, you get A legal practice since there was no international copyright law at the time, a statement that is clearly not a sentence. Because the question asks you to identify the option that is NOT acceptable, (C) is correct.
7/12/25
The older you get, the more difficult it is to learn to speak French like a Parisian. However, no one knows exactly what the cutoff point is—at what age it becomes harder, nevertheless, to pick up noun-verb agreements in a new language.
A. NO CHANGE
B. for instance,
C. moreover,
D. likewise,
To simplify the sentence and avoid getting distracted by the transition already in the passage, ignore the transition and re-read the passage without it. The passage is discussing the age at which it becomes more difficult for people to learn a new language. In that context, [picking] up noun-verb agreements is an example of a skill that becomes more difficult as people get older. The only option to convey that relationship is for instance, which indicates that an example is being presented. (B) is thus correct.
7/11/25
They call it “the Never-Ending Storm of Catatumbo” or “The Lighthouse of Maracaibo”: something so familiar that people in the state of Zulia in Venezuela even put it on their flag. Less than half an hour after the first cloud forms, it starts to flash. It does this faster and faster — 200 times a minute is not uncommon. Afterward, the cloud becomes a giant bulb that lights up the night.
Which choice provides new information that is relevant to the rest of the paragraph?
A. NO CHANGE
B. lightning
C. a storm
D. a natural force
The key phrase in the question is “relevant to the rest of the paragraph.” As a result, it is necessary to consider the information in the rest of the passage when determining the answer. What is the focus of the rest of the passage? Something that starts to flash, and that is a giant bulb that lights up the night. The only option that corresponds to that description is “lightning,” so the answer is (B).
7/10/25
Crossword puzzles are said to be the most popular and widespread word game in the world, yet they have a relatively short history. The first crosswords appeared in British children’s books during the nineteenth century, they were simple games, apparently derived from the word square: a group of words arranged so that the letters read alike vertically and horizontally. In the United States, however, the puzzle developed into a serious adult pastime.
A. NO CHANGE
B. Although the first crosswords
C. Until the first crosswords
D. When the first crosswords
To answer this question, you must consider the sentence as a whole; the underlined section alone does not give you enough information to determine the correct option. When considered independently, the underlined portion makes sense; however, the construction comma + they later in the sentence (nineteenth century, they were simple games) signals a comma splice — two complete sentences separated by a comma. Because comma + they cannot be changed, a conjunction must be added to the beginning of the sentence to make the first clause dependent. Although does not make sense: the first crosswords were not simple games despite the fact that they appeared in children’s books. Those are similar ideas, not different ones. Until also does not make sense: this answer would imply that crosswords were simple games before they appeared in children’s books (at which point they became more complex). Only when fits: it indicates that crossword puzzles were simple at the time they appeared in children’s books. That makes (D) correct.
7/9/25
When German immigrants first started coming to the United States in the 1700s, they brought the pretzel with them. Bavarians and other southern Germans had been enjoying pretzels for hundreds of years. Sometimes they ate pretzels as a side to a main dinner course; other times, they chowed down on sweet pretzels for dessert. In Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany, signs for bakeries still include gilded pretzels hanging over the door.
A. NO CHANGE
B. chomped on
C. consumed
D. chugged
Chowed down on, chomped on, and chugged are all excessively slangy and casual when compared to the types of words used in the rest of the passage. In addition, chugged can only describe something done to a liquid, not a solid food. Only consumed is consistent with the moderately serious tone of the passage, making the answer (C).
7/8/25
While most paintings produced by members of the Hudson River School were rendered realistically, many of the scenes they depicted were synthesized from a variety of natural images observed by the artists. In gathering the visual data for their paintings, the artists would travel to environments with extraordinary and extreme conditions that did not permit extended painting in these environments. During the expeditions, the artists recorded sketches and memories, returning to their studios to paint the finished works later.
A. NO CHANGE
B. in such environments.
C. in such places.
D. DELETE the underlined portion.
To answer this question, you must take the entire sentence into account — the underlined portion does not provide enough information to answer the question. Before the underlined section, the writer already makes clear that artists would travel to environments with extraordinary and extreme conditions that did not permit extended painting. As a result, it is redundant to restate this information. (Although (C) replaces environments with places, the result is still the same.) The information should therefore be deleted, making (D) correct.
7/7/25
Key-Sook Geum is an artist, fashion designer, and scholar from the Republic of Korea. Having taught and worked in fashion design, Geum combines art with fashion through her exquisite wire sculptures in the shape of women’s clothing.
She is inspired by the shapes and styles of clothing from Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). The items tell stories about the people who wore them: their lives, values, and beliefs.
A. NO CHANGE
B. sculpture’s in the shape of womens
C. sculptures in the shape of womens’
D. sculptures’ in the shape of women’s
As a rule, a noun can only be possessive when it is followed by another noun, so start by looking at the words after sculptures and women’s. Sculptures is followed by in, which is a preposition rather than a noun, so this word cannnot be possessive (no apostrophe). That eliminates (B) and (D). The word clothing, which follows women’s, is a noun (you can say the clothing) so an apostrophe is necessary — the question is whether it belongs before or after the -s. Although the plural possessive (women’s clothing = clothing belonging to women) is normally formed by adding -s + apostrophe to a noun, women is irregular: that is, its plural is not formed by adding -s to its singular form (woman). To form the possessive of an irregular plural noun, add apostrophe + -s (women’s). (A) is thus correct.
7/6/25
Located in London’s Kew Gardens, the greenhouse known as the Temperate House is home to a geographically arranged collection of 10,000 plants from temperate climates around the world. These areas are sometimes described as “the Goldilocks zone” of the planet. Plants are safe from frost there.
Which of the following choices most effectively combines the underlined sentences?
A. These areas are sometimes described as the “Goldilocks zone” of the planet, being that plants are safe from frost there.
B. These areas are sometimes described as the planet’s “Goldilocks zone,” where plants are safe from frost.
C. These areas are sometimes described as the “Goldilocks zone” of the planet, and that is an area where plants are safe from frost.
D. Described sometimes as the “Goldilocks zone” of the planet, plants are safe from frost there.
Shortcut: shorter is better. When you are asked to combine sentences, the shortest answer will frequently be correct, and you should start by looking at it. That is the case here: (B), the shortest answer, is also the cleanest and least awkward, and it does not contain any grammatical errors. Otherwise, (A) is incorrect because the phrase being that is wordy and awkward (note that answers with being are almost always wrong). (C) is incorrect because the phrase and that is an area where is unnecessarily wordy and repetitive. (D) is incorrect because it contains a dangling modifier: the phrase Described sometimes as “the Goldilocks zone” of the planet refers to areas, so that word, not plants, must follow the comma. (B) is correct because it joins the sentences cleanly, using only one word (where).
7/5/25
It’s difficult to describe how excited I was when two veteran mountain climbers asked me to join them for a winter attempt on Gasherbrum II, one of the tallest peaks in the Himalayas. Like any adventurous activity, mountaineering has hazards. They must find someone who can tolerate extremely challenging conditions—frostbite burns, intense hunger, the loss of feeling in fingers and toes, overwhelming weariness—all while maintaining the will to push forward.
Which of the following true statements provides the most appropriate transition between the previous sentence and the information that follows?
A. NO CHANGE
B. Mountaineers must choose their climbing partners with extreme care.
C. Personal preparedness and skill development are very important.
D. Instructors teach many skills, including the fundamentals of survival in a cold environment.
Although this question is phrased in terms of transitions, the easiest way to answer it is to focus on the information that follows the underlined statement. That statement must logically set up the information that follows. In this case, the following sentence refers to the fact that [climbers] must find someone who can tolerate some very challenging conditions. Logically, the underlined sentence must indicate who that “someone” who must be found is — otherwise, the following sentence does not make sense. The choices that refer to specific people are (B) (mountaineers) and (D) (instructors). (B) is correct because mountaineers must logically choose partners who can withstand such difficult conditions. Given that the narrator states that s/he was invited to join two veteran mountain climbers, the reference to instructors does not make sense — the narrator is describing a partnership, not a student/teacher scenario.
7/4/25
Many marine animals are large, rare, elusive, and highly mobile. Sharks are an obvious example: in the oceans they make up a small proportion of the biomass, are difficult to catch, and they have been in conflict with humans for thousands of years.
A. NO CHANGE
B. have been
C. having been
D. being
The underlined portion involves the third item in a list, so the format of this item must match the format of the previous two. (C) and (D) do not match either of the first two items at all and can be eliminated right away. Be careful with (A): although the construction pronoun + verb (they have been) is the same as in the first item (they make up), this answer does not match the second item, which begins with a verb alone (are). As a result, this answer is incorrect. Although (B) may appear to contain the same problem, in fact it is acceptable. The pronoun they before the first item can in fact “apply” to the verbs in the following items, making it unnecessary to repeat the pronoun. (B) is thus correct.
7/3/25
We know a lot about carbon, the element that forms the chemical backbone of life, in our crust and oceans. We know far less about it in the Earth’s core and mantle. So far, it’s proved challenging to sample the mantle, which extends up to 1,800 miles below the surface and plays a huge yet mysterious role in the global carbon cycle.
A. NO CHANGE
B. surface, and plays a huge yet mysterious,
C. surface and plays a huge, yet mysterious
D. surface, and plays a huge yet mysterious,
Comma + and = period, so plug in a period in place of and: So far, it’s proved challenging to sample the mantle, which extends up to 1,800 miles below the surface. Plays a huge yet mysterious role in the global carbon cycle. Clearly, the second statement is not a sentence, so the comma before and is incorrect. That eliminates (B) and (D). (C) is also incorrect because when two adjectives are separated by but or yet, no comma should be used between them. (A) is correct because no punctuation is necessary in the underlined section.
7/2/25
If you’ve heard the term “grazer” before, it may bring to mind familiar farm animals, such as cows or sheep munching on pastureland. But the ocean has its own suite of grazers, one with very different — even bizarre — body forms and feeding techniques.
A. NO CHANGE
B. animals such as cows or sheep,
C. animals such as cows or sheep
D. animals such as: cows or sheep
(A) is incorrect because the comma before such would logically seem to begin a non-essential phrase (such as cows or sheep), but there is no second comma to end the phrase. (B) contains the opposite error: a comma is placed at the end of the non-essential phrase, but there is no comma at the beginning. (D) is incorrect because a colon must be placed after a complete, standalone thought, and If you’ve heard the term “grazer” before, it may bring to mind familiar farm animals, such as clearly cannot stand on its own as a sentence. Although the phrase such as cows and sheep can be treated non-essentially, it does not need to be. As a result, the commas are optional; it is also acceptable not to use any punctuation. (C) is thus correct.
7/1/25
Five decades into his life, Phineas Taylor Barnum from Bethel, Connecticut, had risen above his humble beginnings as an impoverished country boy and become a showman—indeed, the “greatest showman” (as he would claim) of his generation. Thanks to a combination of brilliant marketing tactics and less-than-upstanding business practices, Barnum had truly arrived, and with his book Humbugs of the World, published in 1865, he wanted to inform you, his audience, that he hadn’t achieved his rags-to-riches success story by scamming the public.
The use of parentheses in the underlined portion is most likely intended to
A. distinguish Barnum’s exact words from the surrounding description of his life.
B. emphasize the obstacles that Barnum overcame to achieve success.
C. illustrate the pride that Barnum took in his career.
D. suggest that Barnum may have exaggerated his accomplishments.
To answer this question, you must focus on the wording of the information in the parentheses. In context of the fact that Barnum was a showman given to less-than-upstanding business practices, the phrase as he would claim serves to emphasize the idea that Barnum was given to making over-the-top statements about his achievements, i.e., that he “may have exaggerated his accomplishments.” That makes the answer (D). (A) is incorrect because the information in the parentheses is not a direct quote. (B) is off-topic because the information in the parentheses has nothing to do with Barnum’s rags-to-riches story. Be careful with (C), though: it is obvious from the passage that Barnum took pride in his career, but the focus of the parenthetical information is on Barnum’s outsized claim about his accomplishments.
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