Sentence: ...the fruit of the perennial ragweed has blunt tubercles instead...

[Schwartz]

1. _______ the fruit of the perennial ragweed has blunt tubercles instead of spines.
a) Unlike that of the common ragweed b) Unlike the common ragweed
My answer is b) but it's incorrect ,WHy?

2.Peter MacKensey, a novelist, wrote books describing wildlife in Southern California.
Can I use 'to describe' ?

[Mister Micawber]

1-- In casual English, B is commonly used, but in formal writing, the pronoun 'that' (referring to 'fruit') must be used, since it is not the common ragweed itself that has spines. Compare:

Unlike the fruit of the common ragweed, the fruit of the perennial ragweed has blunt tubercles instead of spines.

2-- 'To describe' is grammatically possible, but certainly unusual in this situation.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Fan Of Arabian Horses]

[Mister Micawber]

books describing wildlife
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

[Fan Of Arabian Horses]

Hi MM,

ooops, sorry, I got the question the wrong way. Thought of another verb.

Michael

[Schwartz]

Thank You.