Solutions

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Question

The 32 species that make up the dolphin family are closely related to whales and in fact include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is famous for its aggressive hunting pods.

Option A:

include the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and is

Option B:

include the animal known as the killer whale, growing as big as 30 feet long and

Option C:

include the animal known as the killer whale, growing up to 30 feet long and being

Option D:

includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow as big as 30 feet long and is

Option E:

includes the animal known as the killer whale, which can grow to be 30 feet long and it is

Difficulty Level

Easy

Solution

Option A is the right answer.

Option Analysis

A) Correct Answer. Subject and Verb are in agreement. Parallelism is maintained.

B) The participial modifier growing modifies the subject of the preceding clause – the 32 species. This is incorrect. ‘Growing’ and ‘famous’ are not parallel. “as BIG as 30 ft LONG” is redundant and incorrect.

C) The participial modifier growing modifies the subject of the preceding clause and not ‘killer whale’. This is incorrect. Usage of “being” is redundant. The sentence still means the same even if “being” is removed.

D) The verb ‘includes’ should be ‘include’ as ’32 species of dolphin’ is plural. “as BIG as 30 ft LONG” is redundant and incorrect.

E) The verb ‘includes’ should be ‘include’ as ’32 species of dolphin’ is plural. “and it is” – the “it” breaks the parallelism.