Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumSemicolons

In the sentence below, which punctuation mark should be placed in the blank to connect the two independent clauses grammatically?

Answer:Although Mary Anning was not recognized by the scientific establishment during her lifetime, her fossil discoveries in Lyme Regis fundamentally changed paleontological history【;】 indeed, her work helped pave the way for modern theories of prehistoric life.

Answer

A semicolon is the correct punctuation mark to join the two independent clauses.
A semicolon is the correct punctuation mark to connect the two independent clauses 'her fossil discoveries in Lyme Regis fundamentally changed paleontological history' and 'indeed, her work helped pave the way for modern theories of prehistoric life'. Since these two thoughts are closely related and are not joined by a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon is required to prevent a run-on sentence or comma splice.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the structure of the clauses surrounding the blank.
The clause before the blank ('her fossil discoveries in Lyme Regis fundamentally changed paleontological history') is independent, and the clause after the blank ('indeed, her work helped pave the way for modern theories of prehistoric life') is also independent.
To determine the correct punctuation, we must establish whether the clauses can stand alone as complete sentences.
2
Determine the appropriate punctuation to connect two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
A semicolon is grammatically required to connect two independent clauses when no coordinating conjunction (such as 'and' or 'but') is present.
Using a comma would create a comma splice, and using no punctuation would create a run-on sentence.

Key Concept

Using a semicolon to link two closely related independent clauses.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Rate this question

Topics

Semicolons

More questions from this topic