In recent years, scholars of psychology have begun to examin

[mcmebk]

In recent years, scholars of psychology have begun to examine more seriously the notion, first proposed by John Keats, of "negative capability""”the idea that maintaining calmness amid uncertainty and doubt, rather than experiencing an anxious urge to find solutions, is a genuine talent and possibly even a therapeutic tool.

A.In recent years, scholars of psychology have begun to examine more seriously the notion, first proposed by John Keats, of "negative capability""”the

B. Proposed first by John Keats, the notion of "negative capability," which scholars of psychology began to examine more seriously in recent years: this is the

C. The notion of "negative capability," which John Keats first proposed and scholars of psychology recently began to take more seriously"”the

D. Proposed first by John Keats, and recently scholars of psychology began to take it more seriously, the notion of "negative capability" is the

E. First proposed by John Keats, scholars of psychology have recently begun to take the notion of "negative capability" more seriously; this is the

I could not find any answers better than the OA-A, but a dash requires matching on both sides unless the sentence finishes. Why is A correct here?

Thanks

[jlucero]

I'm not sure what you mean by matching on both sides. Here's the standard definition for this type of dash- an em dash (see what I did there?):

A symbol ( ) used in writing and printing to indicate a break in thought or sentence structure, to introduce a phrase added for emphasis, definition, or explanation, or to separate two clauses.

There are two separate clauses and the second is used to further clarify a point from the first.

[rustom.hakimiyan]

Hi Joe,

I'm a little confused about a few topics, i'll try to break down my understanding below:

1) In A, I looked at "have begun" and considered it not to be a "verb" in the sentence, therefore, I read the sentence as "In recent years, first proposed by John, of negative capability" -- didn't make sense. What role does "have begun" vs "began" play?

2) Like you stated above, a dash requires two independent clauses, is that correct? I was always under the impression that a dash doesn't need two independent clauses and could function as such: Jessica, a beautiful woman -- was extremely smart. Would this sentence be incorrect?

3) In option B -- "which" incorrectly modifies "negative capability" -- it should actually modify the "notion" instead of the "negative capability itself.

4) Isn't "proposed first by John Keats, the notion of negative capability" a full S.V sentence? Proposed - verb. Notion - Subject.

5)In choice D, "proposed first by John keats" is an opening modifier so "the notion of xx" should come right after. Correct? What happens if there is another modifier between the opening modifier and the subject, is that acceptable?

Thanks!

[JuanA115]

Hi,

I wanted to ask you about the correct choice (A):

A) In recent years, scholars of psychology have begun to examine more seriously the notion, first proposed by John Keats, of "negative capability"—the

Why is it correct to split "the notion of "negative capability""??
Why can you leave the notion there hanging?
When is it possible to do such a thing??

Thanks in advance,

Juan

[RonPurewal]

you have two things——"first proposed by JK" and "of negative capability"——that are both modifiers of "the notion". so, we have to place them in some order.

the dashed-off part is an elucidation of what "negative capability" means, so it is clearly best placed directly next to the words "negative capability".

[RonPurewal]

by the way, this whole thing is a nice illustration of how "weird" structures shouldn't affect your ability to solve the problems.

don't be distracted by a construction that seems a bit weird or unfamiliar to you. if you don't actually know that it's wrong, then just don't worry about it! just continue to apply basic principles to splits, as you would in any other sentence.

here, for instance, this issue is resolved nicely by what is perhaps the most basic modifier rule of all: "put descriptions next to the stuff they describe."

SC can be simple—if you don't make it complicated!

[anveshr735]

Hi Ron,

This question has options with colons and dashes.
I understand that colons and dashes are used to explain something which is in the previous sentence or dashes can be used to switch ideas.
Can you explain the other usage of colons and dashes?Also,can you help me with the rules which are helpful in eliminating these options?

I have seen SC questions which mostly fit into these formats-
1)sentence 1 : sentence 2
2)sentence 3--sentence 4
3)sentence 5 -- sentence 6 -- sentence 7

Do all these sentences need to be clauses?can they be incomplete sentences also?What is the relation between these sentences?

Too many questions here,but I am confused with these questions which test on punctuations and there usages.

Thankyou!