Also in 2026 Practice Test C English, question 50.
Question
Which pair of revisions need to be made in this paragraph?
(1) Both Italian gelato and American ice cream are delightful treats to have on a hot summer day, but many people wonder: what is the difference between the two? (2) To start with, the butterfat content is much higher in ice cream than it is in gelato, making the Italian treat a wiser decision for people looking to make healthier choices. (3) Additionally, the mixing process, which adds less air to the frozen treat, makes gelato denser than ice cream. (4) Finally, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream, which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato, and allow it to melt more quickly.
- ASentence 1: Delete the colon after wonder AND change is to are.
- BSentence 2: Delete the comma after with AND change it is to they are.
- CSentence 3: Delete the comma after process AND change makes to make.
- DSentence 4: Delete the comma after gelato AND change allow to allows.
Show the answer
Correct answer: D
The question asks for the revisions that are needed to correct errors in the paragraph.
A. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The colon after “wonder” is needed to set off the question “what is the difference between the two?” from the rest of the sentence. In addition, changing the verb “is” to “are” would be incorrect with the use of the singular noun “difference,” which is the subject of the question.
B. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The comma following the introductory phrase “To start with” helps with clarity and is needed to separate the phrase from the rest of the sentence. Changing “it is” to “they are” would be incorrect with the use of the singular noun “butterfat content,” which is what the words “it is” refer to in the sentence.
C. Incorrect. The revisions introduce new errors. The comma following “process” is necessary to set off the nonrestrictive clause “which adds less air to the frozen treat” from the rest of the sentence. This clause is considered a nonrestrictive clause because it provides additional, but not essential, information about the mixing process. Changing the verb “makes” to “make” would be incorrect with the use of the singular noun “mixing process,” which is the subject of the sentence.
D. CORRECT. Deleting the comma after “gelato” would include the clause “and allow it to melt more quickly” with the first part of the clause “which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato.” The word “and” between the two verb phrases (“enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato” and “allow it to melt more quickly”) indicates that the two verb phrases share a subject, “which” (referring to the act of serving gelato 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream). The two ideas should not be separated by a comma within the clause. The entire clause “which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato and allow it to melt more quickly” should be separated from the main clause only by the comma after “cream” because the entire clause is a nonrestrictive clause. This clause provides additional, but not essential, information about the purpose of serving gelato at a warmer temperature than ice cream. Changing the verb “allow” to “allows” is also necessary to match the use of the singular pronoun “which.”
Question analysis
This editing question gives a four-sentence paragraph comparing Italian gelato with American ice cream and asks which pair of revisions it needs. Students must check subject-verb agreement, what a pronoun refers to and whether each comma or colon belongs, and since every choice bundles two edits in one sentence, a single right-sounding change is not enough.
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Subject-verb agreement and commas around added clauses are grade 7 conventions. Eight marked spots across four long sentences make this a fuller check than a one-sentence item, but the demand is still typical of grade 7 editing.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly apply
- What makes it hard
- A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Complex sentences minor
- Evidence
- Answered from one paragraph or stanza
- Reading level
- Question and choices: about grade 9, 160 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
The paragraph's only real errors sit at the end of its longest sentence, where a plural noun pair just before the faulty verb hides the mismatch. Students who do not hear “allow” as wrong start doubting correct marks instead, such as the colon before an embedded question or the comma after “To start with.” Every wrong pair also changes a verb or pronoun that already agrees, so reading each edit back into its sentence rules those pairs out.
A rule that doesn't sound wrong moderate Working it out
In sentence 4 the plural pair “texture and flavor” sits just before “and allow,” so the verb sounds right, but it belongs to “which,” the warmer serving, and must match “enhances.” (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
Each pair proposes two edits in one sentence, eight in all, and a pair is right only if both of its edits fix real errors, so every edit has to be tried in place. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Complex sentences minor Understanding the question
Sentence 4 hangs a which-clause with two verbs onto the main clause, and the comma before “and allow” splits that clause's compound predicate in a way few students hear as wrong. (Abedi & Lord, 2001; Freedle & Kostin, 1993; Messick, 1989)
Strategy: Before reading the choices, find each verb's true subject and test every marked comma yourself; then look for the choice whose two edits both fix errors you found.
Traps
- Fixes what isn't broken: Changes a part of the sentence that was already correct, while the real error stays; or, where the question asks which sentence has an error or should go, picks one that is correct and belongs.
- Agreement: A verb that does not agree with its subject, or a pronoun that does not agree with the word it stands for.
- Punctuation: A comma, semicolon, colon, dash or apostrophe used where it does not belong, or missing where it does.
The wrong answers, classified
A Agreement (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)
Hears “the two” as the subject and wants “are,” and distrusts a colon before a question, though “the difference” is singular and the colon is correct.
B Punctuation (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)
Believes a short opener like “To start with” needs no comma and accepts “they are,” though the pronoun stands for the singular “butterfat content.”
C Fixes what isn't broken (Connors & Lunsford, 1988)
Picks edits to a sentence that is already correct, unbalancing the commas around the which-clause and giving the singular “mixing process” a plural verb.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
Each choice offers two changes to one sentence. Both changes must fix real mistakes. If even one change breaks something that was right, the choice is wrong. So test every change in its own sentence.
Learn the rule for two verbs
A verb (an action word) must match its subject (who or what does the action). One thing takes allows. Two or more things take allow.
When one subject does two actions joined by “and,” no comma goes before “and.” Example: The sun warms the air and dries the grass. Both verbs end in s, because one sun does both.
Find the mistakes in sentence 4
Sentence 4 says gelato is served warmer than ice cream, “which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato, and allow it to melt more quickly.”
“Which” stands for one thing: serving gelato warmer. That one thing does two actions. It “enhances” (improves) the texture and flavor. It also lets the gelato melt faster. So “allow” should be “allows,” to match “enhances.” And the comma before “and” must go.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. The colon (:) after “wonder” correctly leads into the question. And “is” matches “the difference,” which is one thing.
- B is wrong. The comma after “To start with” sets off an opening phrase. And “it is” stands for “the butterfat content,” which is one thing.
- C is wrong. The commas around “which adds less air to the frozen treat” come in a pair. And “makes” matches “the mixing process,” one thing.
- D is right. Both changes fix real mistakes.
Watch out: “The texture and flavor” comes right before “allow.” Those two things make “allow” sound right. But the subject is “which,” not “texture and flavor.”
Choose the answer
The fixed sentence ends: which enhances the texture and flavor of the gelato and allows it to melt more quickly. So the answer is D.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
A is the closest wrong answer. “The two” sits near “is,” so “are” can sound right. But the question asks what “the difference” is. A difference is one thing, so “is” is correct. A would add a mistake. In D, both changes fix mistakes that are really there.
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The original DOE question
