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Difficulty: EasyCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson published her landmark book *Silent Spring*. The book , which warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides, helped launch the modern environmental movement. Today, this work is widely considered a turning point in conservation history.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    , which warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides
  3. C
    ; which warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides,
  4. D
    , that warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides,

Answer

The choice that makes no changes to the underlined portion is correct because it correctly uses a pair of commas to set off the nonessential relative clause.
The correct choice keeps the sentence as written. The clause 'which warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides' is a nonessential relative clause that provides extra information about the book. Because the book's title is already specified, the clause is not needed to identify the book. Therefore, it must be set off with a matching pair of commas.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if the underlined clause is essential or nonessential to the meaning of the sentence.
The clause 'which warned of the dangers of chemical pesticides' is nonessential because the book's title is already specified, making the clause parenthetical.
Nonessential information must be set off from the rest of the sentence with commas.
2
Evaluate the punctuation surrounding the nonessential clause.
A pair of commas is required, one before 'which' and one after 'pesticides'.
Omitting one of the commas or using a semicolon creates grammatical errors.

Key Concept

Setting off nonessential and parenthetical elements with a pair of commas
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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