Examkin

Question

Difficulty: MediumCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

The meteorologist tracked the intense, rotating storm that was developing over the plains.

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

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    intense, rotating storm, that
  3. C
    intense rotating storm; that
  4. D
    intense, rotating storm, it

Answer

The correct answer is the original phrasing, which correctly uses a comma between the coordinate adjectives and contains no comma before the restrictive relative clause.
The original sentence correctly places a comma between the coordinate adjectives 'intense' and 'rotating' and correctly avoids placing a comma before the restrictive relative pronoun 'that'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine if a comma is needed between the adjectives 'intense' and 'rotating'.
The adjectives are coordinate because they can be reversed ('rotating, intense storm') and joined by 'and' ('intense and rotating storm') while maintaining a natural flow. Therefore, they must be separated by a comma.
Coordinate adjectives require a comma between them, whereas non-coordinate adjectives do not.
2
Check if a comma is needed before the relative pronoun 'that'.
The clause 'that was developing over the plains' is restrictive because it identifies the specific storm being tracked. No comma should separate a restrictive clause from the noun it modifies.
Restrictive clauses are essential to the sentence's meaning and are not set off by commas.
3
Evaluate the remaining options for other grammatical errors.
Using a semicolon before 'that' creates a dependent fragment, and replacing 'that' with 'it' creates a comma splice by joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
A semicolon must only connect independent clauses, and a comma alone cannot join two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.

Key Concept

Applying punctuation rules for coordinate adjectives, restrictive clauses, and clause boundaries.
Rate this question

Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

More questions from this topic