ShmoopTube

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Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by

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hydrophobia. A great excuse for skipping a bath.

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Check out the following passage and answer the question below.

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How would you correct the following underlined portion from the passage? Does it need correcting?

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Here, we're looking for the word or phrase that helps the writer clearly describe the

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kind of water that most cats detest:

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...the odious water of bathtubs.

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Choice (B) suggests the phrase "in fact," but the phrase doesn't mesh with this sentence.

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"In fact" is a transition, meaning that it's used to help the reader progress from one

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idea to the next. This particular transition is often used when an author wants to refute

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a previous idea. One might say something like, "Some people think cats love tub water; in

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fact, cats loathe it with every ounce of their beings."

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This isn't what the author is going for, though, so we'll eliminate choice (B).

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Choice (C) is incorrect as well. The word "actually" often serves the same purpose as

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"in fact" by helping an author contrast a previously stated idea. Someone might say,

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"Eddy thinks I'm his friend; actually, I'm bent on his demise." But that person is probably

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reading too much Edgar Allen Poe.

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In any case, we're sure that (C) is wrong, and we can move on from here.

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Choice (D) suggests the phrase "at most," which means "not more than." We might say,

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"The miniature potbelly pig was at most 100 pounds."

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Why might we say that? Whatever, we can say what we want.

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This phrase does nothing to help the writer get his or her point across, so we'll nix

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choice (D). The correct answer is (A). The phrase "at

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least" can mean more exactly. Here, it helps the author specify that cats hate tub water,

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not every drop of water in the world.

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If cats hated all water, they'd be a pretty dehydrated species.

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