Multiple choice

Directions: The following question presents a sentence, part of which or all of which is underlined. Beneath the sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. If you think the original is best, choose the first answer; otherwise choose one of the others.

Studies show that young people with higher-than-average blood pressure and their families have a history of high blood pressure are more likely than others to develop a severe form of the condition.

  1. and their families have a history of high blood pressure

  2. whose families have a history of high blood pressure

  3. and a history of high blood pressure runs in the family

  4. whose families have a history of high blood pressure running in them

  5. with a history of high blood pressure running in their family

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The pronoun "whose" correctly refers to "young people," creating a proper relative clause that shows the familial relationship. "And their families have" creates an illogical connection - it grammatically suggests the young people both have higher blood pressure AND their families have history, rather than properly linking the family history to the young people.

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