Sentence Correction

The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being so far away from Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime.

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being
(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(C) Although like the planets the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, yet
(D) As the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are
(E) The stars are in motion like the planets, some of which at tremendous speeds are in motion but





















OA is B
Can anyone tell me why A is wrong? Why can't we use "yet being..."here? I think "yet being" can act as a participle to modify the stars..What's wrong with it?

Here nouns stars and planets are compared.So 'like' must be used.

we can eliminate A and D.

E is wordy and awkward.

Narrows down to B and C.

In option C Altough & yet are used.In same sentence both coordinating conjuction and subordinator cannot be used.Eliminate C.

Pick B

selango wrote:Here nouns stars and planets are compared.So 'like' must be used.

we can eliminate A and D.

Hi, Selango,

Why should we use "like" here? I think this sentence is correct because 'as' is followed by a clause. For example," As her brother did, Jim aced the test"--------CORRECT. ," Like her brother did, Jim aced the test"-------- WRONG. plz help..Where am I wrong?

"As" is used for comparison of clauses, and "like" is used for comparison of nouns. In your example, "her brother did" is a clause with main verb, hence the comparison is valid. In choice D, the comparison is between nouns: "the planets" and "the stars," hence "like" is the correct comparison.

In option d the main verb is missing.

As the planets,the stars are in motion--Wrong

As the planets are,the stars are in motion-correct

Be careful, "BE verb" alone is not a main verb.

So what's wrong with A?

rx_11 wrote:So what's wrong with A?

I see a number of problems with A.

1. The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion - What a horrible way to write! The modifier should be located after motion. Something like - The stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds (incidentally this is how it has been constructed in B.)

2. For simplicity's sake, let us modify the participle modifier from being so far away from Earth that their apparent positions in the sky do not change enough for their movement to be observed during a single human lifetime to being far away.

Now look at the core of the sentence - The stars are in motion, yet being far away.

Preposition yet (for that matter any of the FANBOYS) after a comma ideally joins two independent clauses. being far away is not an independent clause.

3. There is a problem with the participle modifier itself. In fact a participle is not needed here. Being far away, the stars are in motion. - The subordinate and the main clause are two independent thoughts. Linking them together through a participle is faulty. The stars are'nt in motion because they are far away.

This is resolved in B by removing the participle, making the second clause independent and joining the two clauses with preposition but - The stars are in motion, but they are far away.

just a quick question:

(A) The stars, some of them at tremendous speeds, are in motion just as the planets are, yet being
(B) Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

in (A) i would assume the bolded modifier is an appositive, but i'm not quite sure
in (B) i would also imagine it is an appositive, but the short predicate between "some of them" and "the stars" is allowable.

what kind of modifier is this in any case?


thanks for any help