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Difficulty: MediumCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

Although the research team designed a sophisticated, heavily armored submersible, they spent several weeks resolving unexpected electrical issues before the first dive.

Which choice represents the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    sophisticated, heavily armored submersible; they spent
  3. C
    sophisticated, heavily, armored submersible, they spent
  4. D
    sophisticated, heavily armored, submersible, they spent

Answer

The original punctuation in the sentence is correct, meaning the correct choice is the option containing 'NO CHANGE'.
The correct punctuation is already represented in the sentence. It correctly places a comma between the coordinate adjectives 'sophisticated' and 'heavily armored', while omitting unnecessary commas between the adverb 'heavily' and the adjective 'armored', and between the adjective 'armored' and the noun 'submersible'. Additionally, a comma is correctly placed after the introductory dependent clause starting with 'Although' to separate it from the main independent clause.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the adjectives modifying the noun are coordinate or cumulative.
The adjectives 'sophisticated' and 'heavily armored' are coordinate because they can be reversed ('heavily armored, sophisticated submersible') and joined by 'and' ('sophisticated and heavily armored submersible') while retaining the original meaning.
Coordinate adjectives must be separated by a comma.
2
Check the relationship between the adverb and its adjective, and between the last adjective and the noun.
No commas should be placed between 'heavily' and 'armored' because 'heavily' is an adverb modifying the adjective. Similarly, no comma should be placed between 'armored' and 'submersible' because a comma should never separate the final adjective in a series from the noun it describes.
This avoids separating closely related grammatical elements that act as a single modifier unit.
3
Identify the clause boundary and choose the correct punctuation mark.
The sentence begins with the subordinating conjunction 'Although', making 'Although the research team designed a sophisticated, heavily armored submersible' a dependent clause. An introductory dependent clause must be followed by a comma when it precedes the independent clause.
A semicolon is used only to separate two independent clauses, whereas a comma is required after an introductory dependent clause.

Key Concept

Punctuation rules for coordinate adjectives, adverb-adjective modifiers, and introductory dependent clauses.
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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