Read the sentence to find out if there is an error and choose the corresponding answer:
A. Climatic shifts are
B. so gradual they can be
C. indistinguishable at first
D. from ordinary fluctuations
E. in the weather
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → B only
"So ... that":
- so + adjective is followed by a that-clause showing the result: so gradual that they can be indistinguishable.
- "That" may be dropped in casual speech, but in correct written English it is kept in this pattern, and it is the only part of this sentence that can be faulted.
(A) Climatic shifts are — No error.
- A plural subject with the plural verb "are".
(B) so gradual they can be — Error.
- "that" is missing: so gradual that they can be.
Example: The box was so heavy that I could not lift it. - Correct form: Climatic shifts are so gradual that they can be indistinguishable at first from ordinary fluctuations in the weather.
(C) indistinguishable at first — No error.
- Indistinguishable means impossible to tell apart.
(D) from ordinary fluctuations — No error.
- "indistinguishable from" is the correct pattern.
(E) in the weather — No error.
- Fluctuations in something is the correct phrase.