Multiple choice

Directions: The following sentence tests correctness and effectiveness of expression. Part of the sentence is underlined; beneath the sentence are five ways of phrasing the underlined material. Option (1) repeats the original phrasing; the other four options are different. If you think the original phrasing produces a better sentence than any of the alternatives, select option (1); if not, select one of the other options.

Never before had the country’s citizens confronted so many changes at once, as they had in the Budget Act of 1988.

  1. so many changes at once, as they had in

  2. at once, as many changes as

  3. at once, as many changes as there were with

  4. as many changes as once as they confronted in

  5. so many changes at once that confronted them in
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Option (4): A simple past tense is needed to present the 1988 events in the same time frame as “never before had”. Options (2) and (3) awkwardly place at once between confronted and it’s direct object “changes”. Option (5) presents an unidiomatic comparison with “so many……that”.

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