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Difficulty: MediumEnd-of-Sentence Punctuation

For decades, researchers struggled to explain the strange, rhythmic radio signals coming from outer space. Jocelyn Bell, a postgraduate student at Cambridge, first noticed the anomaly. Although she initially suspected the signals were man-made interference. She and her advisor eventually proved that these pulsars were actually rapidly rotating neutron stars.

Which of the following options provides the correct punctuation to fix the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. anomaly, although sheAnswer
  3. C
    anomaly; although she
  4. D
    anomaly, she

Answer

The correct answer is the option that replaces the underlined portion with a comma followed by the subordinating conjunction, connecting the independent clause to the dependent clause.
The correct option uses a comma to connect the subordinate dependent clause beginning with 'although' to the main independent clause, creating a single grammatically correct sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the boundary between the clauses at the underlined portion.
The clause before the boundary ('Jocelyn Bell... first noticed the anomaly') is independent, while the clause after the boundary ('Although she... man-made interference') is dependent because it begins with the subordinating conjunction 'Although'.
Understanding whether each clause is independent or dependent is necessary to apply correct punctuation rules.
2
Evaluate how to connect the independent clause to the dependent clause.
A dependent clause starting with a subordinating conjunction cannot stand alone as a separate sentence. It must be connected to the main clause using a comma, not a period or a semicolon.
This prevents the creation of a sentence fragment or a semicolon error.
3
Review the options to find the choice that correctly connects the clauses without introducing new errors.
Using a comma followed by 'although she' correctly subordinates the clause, whereas removing 'although' creates a comma splice and using a semicolon creates a fragment.
This ensures the final sentence is grammatically correct and coherent.

Key Concept

End-of-sentence punctuation rules for connecting independent and dependent clauses.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

End-of-Sentence Punctuation

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