tough SC

Can you provide explanation??

Hi Cans,

before explaining the reasoning, please understand this first.

While and at the same time have similar meaning, and using them using together is truly reduntant. I agree the first sentence is wrong.
Read these sentence,

I was doing X, while at the same time my friend was doing Y.
I was doing X, while my friend was doing Y.

Now,

While I was doing X, at the same time my friend was doing Y.
Isn't both are contrasting each other. It would have been right if, While I was doing X, my friend was doing Y.

Similarly, above, in A,

A) they denounce the big government, saying government is doing too much and has become too powerful, while at the same time supporting


they X , while at the same time Y

D) while they denounce big government, saying that government is doing too much and has become too powerful, at the same time supporting

While X, at the same time Y

Can we have expert opinion with explanation ?

I am not an expert but very much comfortable in such questions, here are the exact reasons to eliminate the choices.

First notice the semi colon after the first clause that means the second clause has to be an independent clause.

Rule: Independent clause semicolon Independent clause

Now Op B: they denounce big government- they say that government is doing too much and has become too powerful-but supporting at the same time

the part b/w two dashes is just a modifier...its same like u put that part in b/w comma's rather than dashes so don't get confuse with that. So if u chop this modifying part, u get

they denounce big government but supporting at the same time

So u see, a verb is missing after BUT which sets a parallelism.

Op C: they denounce big government, say that government is doing too much and it has become too powerful, while they support at the same time

2 problems

1) part in red is a modifier and its grammatically wrong

2) if u remove the modifier , u get

they denounce big government while they support at the same time...

the placement of "at the same time" is wrong

Op D: while they denounce big government, saying that government is doing too much and has become too powerful, at the same time supporting

This Op is a sentence fragment. The second clause here is not an IC which it has to be as i mentioned in my post initially. Why...see...remove the modifier again, u get,

while they denounce big government at the same time supporting many specific government programs for health care, education, and the environment.

does this make any complete sense...NO...right..the sentence should be something like:

while they denounce big government, at the same time they support many specific government programs for health care, education, and the environment.

This re-written sentence is an IC.

Op E: same, remove the modifier and see the magic.

Hope this help!!!









Op B.