i can not understand why first blank is erode? what is the

[hasibul.alam]

Some note that the increase in the Native American powwow--an intertribal affair of song, dance, and storytelling, all intrinsic aspects of Native American culture--serves to (i) ______________ the very culture it presumably aims to (ii) ______________. They argue an overarching cultural narrative emerges, one that (iii)______________ the narrative of any one tribe.

Blank (i)
erode
distill
empower
Blank (ii)
foster
undermine
question
Blank (iii)
subsumes
elaborates upon
overcomes
Answers: (A), (D), (G
i can not understand why first blank is erode? what is the shifter/ pivot here to make 1st blank erode?? plz explain

[tommywallach]

Hasibul,

It depend on the the whole structure of the sentence. The first blank, on its own, could easily be "erode" or "empower." We need to look at the other blanks.

The second blank can be worked out on its own, because we have "presumably aims." Well, we know that powwows presumably aim to be a GOOD thing for Native American culture. So the second blank has to be "foster." However, we know from that same phrase "the very culture it presumably aims to" that the first blank has to contradict the second blank. This leads us to "erode," the contradiction of "foster."

Just to clarify, if I say, "Steven _______ the very thing he'd hoped to ________," this structure creates a contradiction. I could fill in like so: "Steven hurts the very thing he'd hoped to help." See how the structure created the contradiction?

-t

[hasibul.alam]

which book do u recommend to catch up this type structure?? i read manhattan but i didnt find this type of structure

[tommywallach]

There's no limit on structures, nor is there any book that lists structures. There are literally an infinite number of possible sentence structures. It's just a question of reading lots of books in English. Good luck!

-t