Identify the sentence that contains an error in parallel structure:
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The researcher gathered baseline data, evaluated the sample, and had verified the temperature.
- Step 1: Parallel structure requires coordinate elements in a series to share the identical grammatical form.
- Step 2: In the sentence 'The researcher gathered baseline data, evaluated the sample, and had verified the temperature', 'gathered' (simple past) and 'evaluated' (simple past) are followed by 'had verified' (past perfect), violating parallelism.
Answer
The researcher gathered baseline data, evaluated the sample, and had verified the temperature.
Why not the others: The other three sentences consistently maintain parallel simple past, infinitive, and simple present verbs throughout.
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