2012-05-30 09:00:02

Though Aaron Burr is infamous for his role in the duel that ended the life of Alexander Hamilton, he was also one of the most influential patriots in the early republic, even serving as Thomas Jefferson's vice president.

(A) Though Aaron Burr is infamous for his role in the duel that ended the life of Alexander Hamilton,
(B) Because Aaron Burr is infamous for his role in the duel that ended the life of Alexander Hamilton,
(C) Though Aaron Burr is famous for dueling and ending Alexander Hamilton's life,
(D) Aaron Burr is infamous for his role in the duel that ended the life of Alexander Hamilton,
(E) Because Aaron Burr is famous for for dueling and ending Alexander Hamilton's life,

The correct answer is A

Explanation: There is no mistake in the sentence. Each of the answer choices, however, does contain a mistake:

(B) is incorrect because it uses an improper introductory word. "Because" is used to introduce cause-and-effect relationships, but the clauses in this sentence provide contradictory information (Burr was not a great patriot BECAUSE he killed Hamilton).

(C) is incorrect because it implies that Burr was famous for dueling and famous for ending Hamilton's life rather than famous for participating in a duel that ended Hamilton's life.

(D) is incorrect because it would create a run-on, as it would link two independent clauses ("Aaron Burr... Hamilton" and "he was... president") using a comma alone.

(E) is incorrect because it uses an improper introductory word. "Because" is used to introduce cause-and-effect relationships, but the clauses in this sentence provide contradictory information (Burr was not a great patriot BECAUSE he killed Hamilton).