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Difficulty: MediumCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

The mechanical engineer designed a lightweight, durable, gear, but the prototype failed during high-stress testing.

Which choice is the best version of the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    lightweight, durable, gear, but the
  2. B
    lightweight, durable gear; but the
  3. lightweight, durable gear, but theAnswer
  4. D
    lightweight, durable gear, the

Answer

The option stating 'lightweight, durable gear, but the' is correct because it correctly punctuates both the coordinate adjectives and the boundary between the two independent clauses.
The correct answer correctly separates the coordinate adjectives 'lightweight' and 'durable' with a comma, without placing an erroneous comma between the adjective 'durable' and the noun 'gear'. It also uses a comma followed by the coordinating conjunction 'but' to properly join the two independent clauses in the sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship between the adjectives 'lightweight' and 'durable' modifying the noun 'gear'.
They are coordinate adjectives because they can be reversed ('durable, lightweight gear') and can be joined with 'and' ('lightweight and durable gear'). A comma must separate them, but no comma should separate 'durable' from the noun 'gear'.
Coordinate adjectives require a comma between them but must not be separated from the noun they modify by a comma.
2
Identify the clause boundary after the word 'gear'.
The clause before 'but' ('The mechanical engineer designed a lightweight, durable gear') and the clause after 'but' ('the prototype failed during high-stress testing') are both independent clauses.
Two independent clauses must be separated by either a semicolon or a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) to avoid a run-on or comma splice.
3
Evaluate the choices based on these rules.
The correct choice must have the structure 'lightweight, durable gear, but the'.
This maintains the proper punctuation for the coordinate adjectives and correctly joins the independent clauses.

Key Concept

Punctuation of coordinate adjectives and joining independent clauses
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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