Sentence Correction

According to the laws of this nation, individuals are minors until they reach the age of eighteen, although this is less in some countries and more in others.

A. although this is less in some countries and more in others
B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
C. although in some countries, it is lower and in others it is higher
D. although it is less than that in some countries and more than that in others
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

E

Source: Official Guide 2020

Hello Everyone!

Let's tackle this question, one problem at a time, and narrow it down to the correct answer quickly! First, let's take a quick scan over the options and highlight any major differences in orange:

According to the laws of this nation, individuals are minors until they reach the age of eighteen, although this is less in some countries and more in others.

A. although this is less in some countries and more in others
B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
C. although in some countries, it is lower and in others it is higher
D. although it is less than that in some countries and more than that in others
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

After a quick glance over the options, there are a couple places we can focus on to narrow down our choices quickly:

1. although vs. but
2. more/less vs. higher/lower

Since both of these will eliminate 2-3 options quickly, let's start with #1 on our list: although vs. but. While it may seem like these two conjunctions are interchangeable, they aren't always that way. Here is an easy way to remember how "although vs. but" works:

although = can be replaced with the phrase "despite the fact that" and it will still make sense
Although we were 20 minutes late to the movie, we didn't miss anything. --> Despite the fact that we were 20 minutes late, we didn't miss anything. = OK
My bike tire is flat, although I made it home on time anyway. --> My bike tire is flat, despite the fact that I made it home on time anyway. = WRONG

but = used to show contrast; does not mean the same thing as "despite the fact that"
My bike tire is flat, but I made it home on time anyway. --> OK

Now that you're more familiar with although vs. but, let's see if we can figure out which one we need in this sentence. We know that we're merely contrasting the age laws in this nation with laws in other countries, so it doesn't make sense to say that the age here is 18 despite the fact that it's different in other countries. It makes more sense to say the age here is 18, but it's different in other countries. Let's see how each option handles this:

A. although this is less in some countries and more in others
B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
C. although in some countries, it is lower and in others it is higher
D. although it is less than that in some countries and more than that in others
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

We can eliminate options A, C, & D because they use "although" instead of "but" to show contrast.

Now that we have it narrowed down to only 2 options, let's take a closer look at each option to determine which one is better:

B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
This option is INCORRECT for a couple reasons. First, saying "this age" is confusing for readers - it means that the number 18 is lower in some countries and higher in others. That's not really true - 18 is 18, no matter where you live. Second, the semicolon before "higher" isn't right. Semicolons only work if the phrases before and after it are independent - and in this case, the phrase after the semicolon isn't an independent clause. Therefore, we can't use a semicolon there.

E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others
This is CORRECT! It is saying the relevant age is lower or higher, not that the actual number 18 is lower or higher, which is what we're going for. There also aren't any problems with punctuation later on.

There you have it - option E is the correct choice! If you become familiar with how common conjunctions and punctuation work, you can spot problems and eliminate wrong options quickly. By narrowing it down to only 2 choices right away, you heavily increase your chance of picking the right one!

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So what would happen if you went with #2 on our list (more/less vs. higher/lower) instead? Here's how that would break down:

A. although this is less in some countries and more in others
B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
C. although in some countries, it is lower and in others it is higher
D. although it is less than that in some countries and more than that in others
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

You can eliminate options A & D because we use higher/lower to talk about ages, not more/less.

B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
C. although in some countries, it is lower and in others it is higher
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

You would still eliminate option C because the conjunction "although" doesn't work here.

B. but this age is lower in some countries; higher in others
E. but the relevant age is lower in some countries and higher in others

You would end up choosing between B & E again, and you'd still end up with E as the correct choice - just in 3 steps instead of 2! Sure, this route may take you a little bit longer, but it's still a lot faster to focus on "either/or" differences because they'll eliminate 2-3 options quickly!


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