Which choice is the most concise and clear?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. He was late
- 'The reason for his lateness was due to his missing the bus.' uses redundant phrasing by pairing 'The reason' with 'due to'.
- 'The reason he was late is.' contains the common grammatical redundancy 'the reason... is because'.
- 'It was.' is excessively convoluted and creates an ungrammatical double explanation.
- 'The reason he was late is.' contains the common grammatical redundancy 'the reason... is because'.
- 'It was.' is excessively convoluted and creates an ungrammatical double explanation.
- Step 1: Evaluate each option for wordiness and redundant phrasing.
- Step 2: Phrasings such as 'the reason... was because' repeat the concept of causation unnecessarily.
- Step 3: The sentence 'He was late.' communicates the cause directly and without redundancy.
Answer
He was late.
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