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Description:

ACT English: Sentence Structure Drill 1, Problem 3. Proper word choice for independent clauses.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by grandparents. Keeping "Werther's" in business

00:08

since 1903.

00:12

How should you change the highlighted portion below, if at all?

00:15

The grandparents drove away in their car. As the children ran behind, shouting and waving

00:20

goodbye.

00:28

In this question, the word "as" is doing its best to be what's called a "subordinating

00:33

conjunction."

00:34

When we slap a subordinating conjunction on the front of what was formerly an independent

00:38

clause, the clause's independent spirit is broken, and it suddenly becomes a dependent,

00:45

subordinate clause.

00:47

Subordinate clauses are always dependent on a main clause, and can never be on their own,

00:51

without becoming fragments.

00:53

The second supposed sentence here is a good example of this.

00:56

"The children ran behind, shouting and waving goodbye," totally works as an independent

01:01

clause.

01:01

It can stand on its own two feet as a complete sentence, since it has a subject, "children,"

01:05

and a predicate, "shouting and waving."

01:08

However, as soon as we put "as" in front of this formerly independent clause, its legs

01:13

are taken out from under it. Whoopsies.

01:17

The addition of "as" signals that the clause is meant to augment the main clause instead

01:22

of just doing its own thing.

01:24

So, in our sample clauses, the grandparents who are driving away are the main event, while

01:29

the children they're leaving behind are the secondary information.

01:32

Man, we hope these kids' parents are still around. These grandparents are pretty negligent.

01:37

One way to fix the original sentence would be to take out the period and just stick the

01:40

sentences together.

01:42

This would allow "as" to fulfill its dream of being a proper subordinating conjunction.

01:46

Unfortunately, dreams rarely come true...

01:50

None of the answer choices present this option, so none of these words are destined to connect

01:54

anything to anything.

01:56

We can't go around beginning full sentences with subordinating conjunctions, like "as,"

02:00

that don't connect anything; otherwise the world would descend into fragmented madness.

02:06

This means that we can not only get rid of choice (A), we can also eliminate choice (B).

02:11

"While" is a subordinating conjunction as well, and it has all the same problems as

02:15

its buddy "as."

02:16

Choice (C) suffers from a similar problem. "During" is a preposition, a part of speech

02:21

whose job it is to link nouns, pronouns, and phrases.

02:25

Because "during" isn't allowed to link anything here, it also transforms the final clause

02:29

into a fragment.

02:30

It's kind of like this version of the sentence begins with a bridge that leads to nothing

02:34

at all.

02:36

Choice (D) is the correct answer because it uses a period to separate both independent

02:40

clauses and lets them do their thing all by themselves.

02:43

Hopefully, the grandparents in question here didn't leave these kids all by themselves.

02:47

If so, somebody better call social services.

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