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Question

Difficulty: MediumSemicolons

Deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, therefore, it is designed to safeguard the world's crop diversity against future disasters.

Which of the following is the best replacement for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Vault; therefore, itAnswer
  3. C
    Vault. Because it
  4. D
    Vault; because it

Answer

The correct option is the one that punctuates the independent clauses using a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb: 'Vault; therefore, it'.
The sentence contains two independent clauses: 'Deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault' and 'it is designed to safeguard the world's crop diversity against future disasters.' When joining two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb like 'therefore,' a semicolon must precede the transition, and a comma must follow it.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clauses in the sentence.
The sentence consists of two clauses: 'Deep inside a sandstone mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen lies the Svalbard Global Seed Vault' and 'it is designed to safeguard the world's crop diversity against future disasters.' Both clauses are independent because they can stand alone as complete thoughts.
Determining whether the clauses are independent or dependent is necessary to apply the correct punctuation rules.
2
Evaluate the transition word linking the two clauses.
The transition word 'therefore' is a conjunctive adverb, not a coordinating conjunction (such as 'and', 'but', or 'so').
Conjunctive adverbs require specific punctuation (a semicolon before and a comma after) when joining independent clauses.
3
Choose the punctuation option that correctly connects these independent clauses without creating a fragment or run-on.
The correct format is 'Vault; therefore, it'.
A semicolon is appropriate to separate independent clauses, and using it avoids a comma splice or fragment.

Key Concept

Using semicolons to connect independent clauses linked by a conjunctive adverb
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Topics

Semicolons

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