The two countries had to reach an agreement on trade policies. Then they could complete the peace treaty. Then one of them found a spy and it ended the negotiations.
Which of the following sentences correctly restates the passage?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When combining sentences on the TEAS, your answer needs to follow two rules:
The meaning of the original sentences must be the same.
The combined sentence must be clear and grammatically correct.
Let's walk through each sentence together:
The two countries had to reach an agreement on trade policies. Then they could complete the peace treaty. Then one of them found a spy and it ended the negotiations.
Because one of them found a spy, the two countries, which had to reach an agreement on trade policies, didn't complete the peace treaty.
This is incorrect as it is a run-on sentence. It also presents the information in an order that is confusing to follow.
Having to reach an agreement on trade policies before finding a spy, the two countries completed the peace treaty.
This sentence states that the two countries completed a peace treaty, which is incorrect.
So they could find the spy to end the negotiations, the two countries had to reach an agreement on trade policies instead of completing the peace treaty.
This sentence is incorrect as it makes it sound like the countries were trying to reach an agreement on trade policies in order to find a spy.
In order to complete the peace treaty, the two countries had to reach an agreement on trade policies; however, the negotiations ended when one of them found a spy.
This is the best choice as it retains the meaning of the original sentences and is grammatically correct.
When doing these problems, the simplest, clearest sentence that does not change the meaning of the original statement will be the best answer choice.

The Two Countries Had to Reach an Agreement on Trade