Question

read the sentence.
gregor watched, assessing how sasha reacted to his news.
which statement best explains how the underlined clause conveys meaning?
○ it is an adverbial clause explaining sasha’s behavior.
○ it is a noun clause indicating what gregor was observing.
○ it is a noun clause describing what sasha was responding to.
○ it is a relative clause specifying the information gregor gave sasha.

Explanation:

1. Analyze the underlined clause "how Sasha reacted to his news":

• An adverbial clause modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb. But here, the clause is the object of "assessing", so it's not adverbial. Eliminate the first option.
• A noun clause can act as a noun (subject, object, etc.). In "assessing how Sasha reacted to his news", "how Sasha reacted to his news" is the object of the verb "assessing", indicating what Gregor was observing (assessing).
• The third option says it describes what Sasha was responding to, but the clause is about Sasha's reaction, not what she responded to. Eliminate.
• A relative clause starts with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, etc.) and modifies a noun. The underlined clause doesn't modify a noun, so it's not a relative clause. Eliminate the fourth option.

Answer:

B. It is a noun clause indicating what Gregor was observing.