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You are here: Experts > Kids > Language Arts for Kids > Language Arts for Kids > SAT Grammar
Expert: Debra Duenas - 9/29/2008
Question
Hi Debra,
This question is from The Official SAT Guide Book Page 601#7
[Whether the ancient Egyptians actually sailed or did not] to South America remains uncertain, but Heyerdahl's Ra II expedition demonstrated that they could have done so.
a) Whether the ancient Egyptians actually sailed or did not
b) Whether in actuality the ancient Egyptians sailed or did not
c) The actuality of the sailing by the ancient Egyptains
d) That the ancient Egyptains actually sailed
e) The ancient Egyptians, their actual sailing
I eliminated B, C, E. I think A is the best answer compared to D. But the correct answer is D. Why? Can you use THAT in the beginning of a sentence? Thanks in advance
Answer
Yuck!
I think C is the best of the lot...
Yes, you can begin with 'that' but it is awkward and not recommended.
The best grammatical wording of this sentence would be "Whether the ancient Egyptians did or did not sail to South America..."
Sorry for the confusing test...I don't like standardized testing.
The work you are doing here is a demonstration of what is called prescriptive grammar...that's the grammar that is demanded to the last detail by all the rules and regulations. What we actually use is called descriptive grammar...it reflects that actual usage of the average American. Because we never really use prescriptive grammar, it is often hard to learn.
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