Identify the error in the sentence: 'The professor explained the theory clearly, and she also answers student questions patiently during office hours yesterday.'
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Unwarranted tense shift from past simple to present simple
- Step 1: The sentence begins in the narrative past tense ('explained') and refers to an event 'yesterday', but abruptly shifts to present tense ('answers'). Tense consistency requires maintaining the past tense ('and she also answered') throughout the unified past narrative. Answer: Unwarranted tense shift from past simple to present simple. Why not the others: "Dangling participial modifier" occurs when an introductory verbal modifier lacks a logical grammatical subject; "Faulty comparative structure" involves an incomplete or illogical comparison between non-parallel items; "Comma splice between clauses" links two independent clauses with only a comma, which is not present here.
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