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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices repeats the underlined portion as it is written.
Horses were domesticating by humans thousands of years ago.
The sentence describes what humans did to horses in the past, a fact that needs to be reflected in the verb's tense and transitivity. The correct answer must indicate that the domesticating being discussed took place in the past and was done by humans to horses, leading to "were domesticated" as the only possible answer choice.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Very few animals in the world were actually able to domesticate by human beings.
The central problem with the underlined words in the sentence is that the animals seem to be the ones doing the domesticating—at least until the reader gets to the phrase "by human beings," and the sentence becomes confusing. The underlined words need to convey that human beings are the ones doing the domesticating, and that the animals are the objects of that domestication. Since "Very few animals in the world" is the subject of the sentence and cannot be changed here, we need to use the passive voice to describe that domestication is the thing being done to the animals. "To be domesticated" is the correct answer choice, as it is the only answer that correctly uses passive voice and avoids introducing additional errors (like "to be domesticating," which uses present progressive tense unnecessarily and doesn't agree with the previous past-tense verb "were . . . able."
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Under the old regime, liberties curtailed greatly.
The underlined portion of the sentence contains a flaw in word order. To have the sentence make sense, the government, and not liberties, must be doing the curtailing. The only answer choice that correctly indicates that "the old regime" is the thing doing the curtailing without introducing errors into the sentence is "The old regime greatly curtailed liberties."
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The new boss was eagerly anticipating by the employees, because no one in the office knew what to expect.
The context of the underlined phrase show it is actually a use of the passive voice, with the anticipation done "by the employees," not the new boss. Thus, the correct answer must feature a passive construction. "Was eagerly anticipated" is the best choice among the answers.
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Select the answer that produces the most effective sentence, one that is clear and exact, without awkwardness or ambiguity.
Hearing about the crisis in the developing country, a campaign was organized by the class president and raised $5,000.
Figure out who is the subject of the first part of the sentence—the class president, rather than the campaign itself, heard about the crisis. Also, avoid passive voice ("the campaign was organized").
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
After the novelist threw the draft into the trash, the crumpled paper was retrieved by his concerned assistant.
Avoid the passive voice of the original ("the crumbled paper was retrieved") and choose the simplest answer that preserves the original meaning of the text.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
As the suit was finished quickly, that it still needed alterations did not surprise Henry.
Avoid the passive voice of the original ("it still needed alterations") and choose the simplest answer which preserves the meaning of the original sentence.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The ancient texts are often confused to people who do not understand their full context.
The sentence is written as to make the texts be "confused," when the latter part of the sentence makes clear the people reading them are "confused." The word needs to be changed to a form that properly conveys this. "Are often confusing" is the best choice among the answers.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The nation’s economy was growing rapidly for reasons having to do with booming foreign investment following the discovery of vast natural resources.
The initial sentence is wordy and in passive voice. The correct answer is concise and active.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Scenes from daily life were painted by the French Impressionists, in a break with their predecessors.
The initial sentence is in passive voice. The correct answer conveys the proper meaning while changing it to active voice.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
For his service in the war, the soldier was giving the country's highest honor by the President.
The soldier would have trouble "giving" an award "by the President." The use of the final prepositional phrase "by the President" indicates that the soldier is receiving the award. The only answer choice that clarifies this point is "the soldier was given the country's highest honor," making it the correct answer choice.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
Perhaps the shift in the profit sectors will reverse itself in the next few months, makes the entire conversation unnecessary in the long run.
The use of the present tense verb "makes" in the final, underlined portion of the sentence creates a confusing meaning. The present participle is the only verb from which appropriately connects to the main portion of the sentence. The only answer choice which correctly makes this change is "making the entire conversation unnecessary in the long run."
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
The key issue in the case concerned whether or not the defendant ever having possession of the murder weapon.
The use of the present participle "having" in this sentence is incorrect, as the issue is whether the defendant had possesion in the past. The verb needs to be changed to the past participle form. The only answer choice which contains the correct verb form is "ever had possession of the murder weapon."
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Tom was given the most lucrative promotion, although Mr. Jones normally only recognizes the most senior accountants.
The initial clause of the sentence, "Tom was given the most lucrative promotion," uses the passive voice; conventionally, altering this type of sentence to use active voice makes it clearer and more concise.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
Mike and Jonas were asked to spar by the boxing coach, eager to see how they would perform in a simulated match.
The initial independent clause in the sentence, "Mike and Jonas were asked to spar by the boxing coach," uses passive voice ("were asked"); it becomes clearer when we use active voice ("the boxing coach asked Mike and Jonas . . .").
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
More than any other person who having held the position, the student body president actually ran a vigorous campaign to be elected to his office.
The use of "having" in the underlined phrase is both unnecessary and awkwardly introduces a passive voice construction. Simply by eliminating the word "having" makes the clause use an active voice construction and have a much simpler construction. "More than any other person who having held his position," is, therefore, the correct answer choice.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
Due to the legal complexities of the case, the brief was filed by the lawyer's associate in a neighboring jurisdiction that has friendlier laws.
As it is written, the sentence has the frequently-made but serious mistake of using the passive voice to describe the action taking place. Not only is active voice the preferred method in structuring a sentence, but, in this sentence, the active voice clarifies a complex sentence. As the only choice to properly use the active voice, "the brief was filed by the lawyer's associate in a neighboring jurisdiction" is the correct answer.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
With incredible speed was the document transcribed by Kevin.
The example sentence is made awkward and confusing by its use of the passive voice. In a sentence that uses the passive voice, objects are acted upon by subjects ("the document was transcribed"), whereas in sentences that use the active voice, subjects act on objects ("Kevin transcribed the document"). Unnecessary use of the passive voice often confuses the reader, and usually makes sentences longer than they need to be and less smooth. When possible, direct and simple statements of fact are preferable to longer, less fluid constructions of the same idea. The most precise, concise, and grammatically functional rephrasing of the sentence reads, "Kevin transcribed the document with incredible speed."
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
At the turn of the century, many new advances in technology were discovered by scientists.
This example shows how the active voice is preferred over the passive voice. The active voice constructs a much stronger sentence than the passive does.
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Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English.
The time that was had by Jenny at the circus was good.
The voice of the verb in the example sentence is passive. In general, where possible, it is best to use active voice over passive voice. Active sentences use the subject as the agent of the main verb, and are therefore usually simpler and clearer than passive sentences. The best version of this sentence reads, "Jenny had a good time at the circus."
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