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Difficulty: Very hardCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

To prepare the spacecraft for its historic voyage, engineers conducted a series of tests on the complex, advanced navigation systems, and they verified that every sensor was calibrated to withstand extreme solar radiation.

Which of the following options is the best choice for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    complex, advanced, navigation systems and verified
  3. C
    complex advanced navigation systems, and verified
  4. D
    complex, advanced navigation systems; and they verified

Answer

The correct choice is the one that retains the original punctuation, separating the coordinate adjectives with a comma and using a comma and coordinating conjunction to link the two independent clauses.
The correct choice keeps the comma between 'complex' and 'advanced' because they are coordinate adjectives. It does not place a comma before 'navigation' because 'navigation' is a cumulative adjective. Finally, it uses a comma before the coordinating conjunction 'and' because 'they verified...' begins a new independent clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify whether the adjectives 'complex' and 'advanced' are coordinate or cumulative.
They are coordinate adjectives because they can be reversed ('advanced, complex') and joined with 'and' ('complex and advanced') while retaining the same meaning.
Coordinate adjectives must be separated by a comma.
2
Determine if a comma is needed between 'advanced' and 'navigation'.
No comma is needed because 'navigation' is a cumulative adjective modifying 'systems' rather than a coordinate adjective.
Cumulative adjectives should not be separated by commas.
3
Evaluate the clause boundary after 'systems'.
'Engineers conducted a series of tests...' and 'they verified...' are two independent clauses.
Two independent clauses must be joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction (such as 'and') or by a semicolon alone.

Key Concept

Commas with coordinate adjectives and independent clauses
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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