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RonPurewal
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Re: While they remove carbon dioxide from the air, conserve

by RonPurewal Fri Sep 02, 2016 8:30 pm

"While forests do [these NATURAL things]... they also do [these MAN-MADE / ARTIFICIAL things]"
JbhB682
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Re: While they remove carbon dioxide from the air, conserve

by JbhB682 Mon Jul 10, 2017 9:42 am

I have a question on B, specifically what Ron mentioned was point 1 that was wrong in B (marked in red below) ...

Question : Why should we consider this construction : Forest supply pharmaceuticals but also supply 'sources of ....'

The construction has a 'comma + and' indicating everything after the 'comma +and' is an independent clause ?

Given its 2 independent clauses, should it not be

Independent Clause 1) Forest supply pharmaceuticals

Independent Clause 2) Sources of building material and firewood, are providers of Employment for millions worldwide

Don't see how can the sentence be structured per the red below as they are 2 separate independent clauses because of comma + and
Please assist ..

thank you,


choice b:
at least 3 things wrong.
- the wording seems to state that the forests supply pharmaceuticals but also supply 'sources of...'. that isn't right - they are sources of those things.
- there's no conjuction correcting the two clauses (forests supply... and are providers...) -- that 'and' isn't there
- 'are providers of' is wordy and much worse than just 'provide'
Sage Pearce-Higgins
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Re: While they remove carbon dioxide from the air, conserve

by Sage Pearce-Higgins Mon Jul 17, 2017 6:58 am

Good job for taking a detailed look at this question.

The construction 'comma and' doesn't always mean that there are two independent clauses. It can also mean a list (and therefore a parallel construction). Take, for example, 'Jim eats chocolate, fruit, and bread.' No extra independent clause here. I know what you're about to say: in answer B above we have just two elements in the list. If the elements are longer, then we can add in a comma for clarity. For example: 'Jim eats chocolate made from the most expensive cacao seeds, and bread.' We have only two things that Jim eats, but the comma provides clarity.

In any case, as you analyze the sentence, the second independent clause doesn't make sense: 'Sources of building material and firewood, are providers of Employment for millions worldwide'. There's an unnecessary comma here, and it's a bit odd to say that the sources provide employment.