The following passage contains a sentence with a missing punctuation mark. Read the passage and determine which punctuation mark should be inserted in the blank to ensure the sentence is grammatically correct and adheres to standard punctuation conventions.
The archaeological team’s latest excavation in the valley revealed a series of clay tablets—dating back to the early Bronze Age and inscribed with an undeciphered cuneiform script {{blank_1}} that could potentially rewrite the history of trade routes in ancient Mesopotamia.
What punctuation mark should be inserted in the blank?
Answer:The archaeological team’s latest excavation in the valley revealed a series of clay tablets—dating back to the early Bronze Age and inscribed with an undeciphered cuneiform script 【—】 that could potentially rewrite the history of trade routes in ancient Mesopotamia.
Answer
An em dash (—) or standard dash (-)
The correct punctuation mark is an em dash. The phrase 'dating back to the early Bronze Age and inscribed with an undeciphered cuneiform script' is a nonessential parenthetical element that interrupts the main clause of the sentence. In English grammar, nonessential elements must be set off by matching punctuation marks—either a pair of commas, a pair of parentheses, or a pair of dashes. Because the sentence uses an em dash to introduce this parenthetical phrase after 'tablets', a matching em dash must be used to close the phrase before 'that' to maintain grammatical consistency.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Punctuation consistency with parenthetical elements requires that if an interrupting phrase begins with a dash, it must also end with a dash.