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Difficulty: Very hardCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

In the passage below, a portion of one sentence is underlined.

Although many nineteenth-century scholars dismissed her work, Mary Anning made groundbreaking discoveries along the cliffs of Lyme Regis. The fossils she excavated helped reshape early geological theories. In particular, her discovery of the first complete plesiosaur skeleton which occurred in 1823 proved that the amateur fossil hunter, who worked alone, could outperform academic scholars.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    skeleton, which occurred in 1823 proved that the amateur fossil hunter who worked alone
  3. skeleton, which occurred in 1823, proved that the amateur fossil hunter who worked aloneAnswer
  4. D
    skeleton; which occurred in 1823, proved that the amateur fossil hunter who worked alone

Answer

The correct answer is the choice that sets off the nonessential clause 'which occurred in 1823' with commas and leaves the restrictive clause 'who worked alone' without punctuation.
The correct choice properly uses a pair of commas to enclose the nonessential relative clause 'which occurred in 1823' and correctly leaves the restrictive relative clause 'who worked alone' unpunctuated. Nonessential information requires surrounding commas to show it can be removed without altering the core meaning of the sentence, while restrictive information defines a specific referent and must remain integrated without commas.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the nonessential relative clause.
'which occurred in 1823' is identified as nonessential.
This clause adds descriptive details about the discovery of the skeleton but is not essential to identify the skeleton itself, meaning it must be enclosed by a pair of commas.
2
Identify the restrictive relative clause.
'who worked alone' is identified as restrictive.
This clause specifies which amateur fossil hunter is being referred to (only the ones who worked alone), making it essential to the sentence's meaning, so it must not have commas.
3
Eliminate incorrect punctuation options.
Choices with dangling commas, semicolons setting off dependent clauses, or commas around restrictive clauses are eliminated.
Semicolons cannot set off nonessential dependent clauses from an independent clause, and missing or misplaced commas violate standard punctuation conventions.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between nonessential elements (which require commas) and restrictive elements (which must not have commas).
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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