Read the excerpt from The Crisis, Number XIII, by Thomas Paine. "Never, I say, had a country so many openings to happiness as th
is. Her setting out in life, like the rising of a fair morning, was unclouded and promising. Her cause was good. Her principles just and liberal. Her temper serene and firm. Her conduct regulated by the nicest steps, and everything about her wore the mark of honor." Which statement best describes this excerpt? 1- Most of the sentences contain comma splices.
2- It consists mostly of run-on sentences.
3- Most of the sentences have a similar structure.
4- It consists mostly of sentences with varied structures.
3- Most of the sentences have a similar structure.
Explanation:
The first two sentences may seem longer, having more elements. But from the third sentence on, what we have are simple clauses, independent sentences. The structure is so similar that Paine was able to omit the verb "to be" from the fourth sentence on, since it had been mentioned in the previous sentence, and the other are somehow a continuation of that same idea. Therefore, we can safely say that most of the sentences have a similar structure.
