Question

The following question presents a sentence, part or all of which is underlined. Select the answer that produces the most effective sentence; your answer should make the sentence clear, exact, and free of grammatical error. It should also minimize awkwardness, ambiguity, and redundancy.

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

Answer 1

The correct option is B Like the planets, the stars are in motion, some of them at tremendous speeds, but they are

Going through the options, D is incorrect. This is because of 'as the planets' is incorrect - 'as' is a conjunction that needs to be followed by a noun and a verb which doesn't happen here. C is out because the use of two words that denote contrast ('although' and 'yet') in the same sentence, renders the sentence illogical. E is illogical because it implies that the planets are moving at high speed and not the stars. Thus E is incorrect. Option A doesn't supply the noun and verb that the second half of the sentence requires of the underlined half. So A is out. B does supply the noun and verb required of the underlined part and is otherwise grammatically correct. Thus B is our answer.