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Difficulty: MediumSentence Fragments

Cellulose nitrate film reels, which were widely used in the early days of cinema, present a major preservation hazard. Because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature. Archival institutions must store them in specialized, climate-controlled vaults to prevent spontaneous combustion.

Which option is the most grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    hazard; because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature; archival
  3. C
    hazard, because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature, archival
  4. hazard because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature; archivalAnswer

Answer

hazard because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature; archival
The correct option removes the period that isolates the dependent clause, successfully attaching it to the preceding clause. It then uses a semicolon to correctly connect the resulting independent clause with the next independent clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the original sentence structure to identify errors.
The clause 'Because they are highly flammable and can decompose at room temperature' starts with a subordinating conjunction ('Because') and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
Recognizing that this clause is dependent shows that a period cannot be placed before it, as that creates a sentence fragment.
2
Determine the relationship between the first independent clause and the dependent clause.
The dependent clause explains the cause of the 'preservation hazard', meaning it should be joined directly to the first clause without separating punctuation.
Joining the clauses resolves the fragment and creates one complete independent clause.
3
Select the correct punctuation to join the newly formed independent clause to the subsequent independent clause.
Use a semicolon to separate the first independent clause ending in 'temperature' from the second independent clause starting with 'archival'.
A semicolon is required because there is no coordinating conjunction (like 'and' or 'so') to connect the two independent clauses.

Key Concept

Correcting sentence fragments by properly connecting dependent clauses to independent clauses and using appropriate punctuation between independent clauses.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Sentence Fragments

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