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Difficulty: MediumSemicolons

The following sentence contains two independent clauses. Enter the correct punctuation mark (such as a comma, semicolon, or colon) that should fill the blank to properly join the clauses within a single sentence.

Answer:Bioluminescent fungi glow in the dark to attract nocturnal insects【;】 consequently, these insects help disperse the fungi's spores throughout the forest.

Answer

A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to join the two independent clauses.
A semicolon is correct because it properly connects two independent clauses that are joined by the transitional adverb 'consequently' within a single sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical structure of the clauses on both sides of the blank.
The clause before the blank ('Bioluminescent fungi glow in the dark to attract nocturnal insects') and the clause after the blank ('these insects help disperse the fungi's spores throughout the forest') are both independent clauses because they can stand alone as complete thoughts.
Determining whether the clauses are independent or dependent dictates which punctuation mark is grammatically correct.
2
Determine the appropriate punctuation to connect the clauses when a transitional adverb ('consequently') is present.
Since the two independent clauses are joined by a transitional adverb, they must be separated by a semicolon.
Using a comma here would result in a comma splice, and leaving it unpunctuated would result in a run-on sentence.

Key Concept

Using semicolons to join independent clauses linked by transitional adverbs.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Semicolons

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