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Question

Difficulty: HardSemicolons

Read the sentence below. What single punctuation symbol should be placed in the blank to grammatically join the two independent clauses within a single sentence?

Answer:The modern library is no longer just a repository for printed books 【;】 it has, furthermore, become a vital community hub offering digital literacy programs and public workspaces.

Answer

A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to join the two independent clauses.
A semicolon is the correct choice because it is used to link two independent clauses that are closely related in thought when no coordinating conjunction (like 'and' or 'but') is present. In this sentence, both the clause preceding the blank and the clause succeeding the blank are independent clauses, so they must be separated by a semicolon.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the grammatical structure of the clause before the blank.
The clause 'The modern library is no longer just a repository for printed books' contains a subject ('library') and a verb ('is') and expresses a complete thought, making it an independent clause.
Identifying whether a clause is dependent or independent is necessary to determine the appropriate punctuation for joining them.
2
Analyze the grammatical structure of the clause after the blank.
The clause 'it has, furthermore, become a vital community hub offering digital literacy programs and public workspaces' contains a subject ('it') and a verb ('has become') and expresses a complete thought, making it a second independent clause.
Two independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma alone (which creates a comma splice) or left with no punctuation (which creates a run-on sentence).
3
Select the correct punctuation mark to join the two independent clauses.
A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to join two independent clauses in a single sentence without a coordinating conjunction.
A semicolon acts as a separator between two closely related independent clauses, preventing both run-on sentences and comma splices.

Key Concept

Using semicolons to connect independent clauses
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Topics

Semicolons

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