jamesk486 wrote:The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that were ascended from Versailles, France, in a basket beneath a hot-air balloon in September 1783.
A.
B. The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that ascended
C. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers that ascended
D. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster that were the first balloon passengers to ascend
E. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers ascending
a tough one
Let's dissect this one:
A. The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that were ascended from Versailles.
"were ascended from" is unidiomatic. Discard A.
B. The first balloon passengers were a sheep, a duck, and a rooster that ascended from Versailles.
This one corrects idiom problem with the original sentence. It also maintains the intended meaning of the sentence. Let's keep it as a contender.
C. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers that ascended from Versailles.
Even though this is grammatically correct, it changes the intended meaning. It makes it seem as if the three animals were the passengers in the "first balloon flight from Versailles." and not necessarily "the first ever balloon flight".
Discard C.
D. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster that were the first balloon passengers to ascend from Versailles.
This one is an incomplete sentence. Discard D.
E. A sheep, a duck, and a rooster were the first balloon passengers ascending from Versailles.
Two problems with this one. It's a worse option than C because not only does it change the intended meaning by placement of "balloon" close to "ascending" , but also changes the form from past participle to past progressive, which can't be used to describe a historical event by itself. Discard E.
This only leaves us with
B as the best and the only correct option.
