Asked by gg

Read the excerpt.

After a strenuous climb, the hikers decided to make camp before reaching the summit; night was approaching rapidly.

Which statement most accurately describes this excerpt?

It contains three dependent clauses.
It contains three independent clauses.
It contains two independent clauses.
It contains two dependent clauses.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
It contains two independent clauses.

Explanation: "The hikers decided to make camp" and "night was approaching rapidly" are two independent clauses joined by a semicolon. "After a strenuous climb" is a prepositional phrase, and "before reaching the summit" is a subordinate (non‑finite) phrase modifying "decided," so they are not additional independent clauses.