Examkin

Question

Difficulty: HardCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

Astronomer Annie Jump Cannon developed a system to organize stellar spectra. The system that she created, which became the standard for modern astrophysics, helped catalog hundreds of thousands of stars. Her work laid the foundation for future generations of astronomers.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    that she created, which became the standard for modern astrophysics
  3. C
    , that she created, which became the standard for modern astrophysics,
  4. D
    that she created; which became the standard for modern astrophysics,

Answer

NO CHANGE
The correct answer properly distinguishes between the restrictive modifier 'that she created' (which should not be set off by commas because it is essential to identifying the system) and the nonessential relative clause 'which became the standard for modern astrophysics' (which must be enclosed in a pair of commas because it is parenthetical).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clauses modifying the noun 'system' in the sentence.
The two modifying clauses are 'that she created' and 'which became the standard for modern astrophysics'.
Understanding the function of each clause determines how they should be punctuated.
2
Determine whether each modifying clause is essential (restrictive) or nonessential (nonrestrictive).
The clause 'that she created' is restrictive because it identifies which specific system is being discussed. The clause 'which became the standard for modern astrophysics' is nonessential because it adds descriptive information but is not required to identify the system.
Restrictive clauses do not take commas, whereas nonessential clauses must be set off by commas.
3
Apply the appropriate punctuation rules to the clauses.
Do not place commas around 'that she created'. Place a pair of commas around 'which became the standard for modern astrophysics', resulting in a comma before 'which' and a comma after 'astrophysics'.
This configuration correctly sets off the parenthetical information without disrupting the essential connection between the noun and its restrictive modifier.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between restrictive (essential) and nonrestrictive (nonessential) clauses to apply commas correctly.
Rate this question

Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

More questions from this topic