Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

The marine biologist spent three weeks exploring the remote coral reef, and she documented several new species of colorful fish.

Which choice best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    reef, and documented
  3. C
    reef; and she documented
  4. D
    reef, she documented

Answer

NO CHANGE
The original sentence correctly joins two independent clauses ('The marine biologist spent three weeks exploring the remote coral reef' and 'she documented several new species of colorful fish') using a comma and the coordinating conjunction 'and'. Therefore, no change is needed.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clause structures on both sides of the conjunction.
The clause before the underlined portion ('The marine biologist spent three weeks exploring the remote coral reef') is independent. The clause starting with the underlined portion ('she documented several new species of colorful fish') is also independent because it has a subject ('she') and a verb ('documented').
Determining clause independence helps establish which punctuation rules apply.
2
Determine the proper punctuation to join two independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction.
Two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (like 'and') require a comma before the conjunction.
This avoids creating run-on sentences or comma splices.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that correctly applies this punctuation rule.
The original phrasing 'reef, and she documented' correctly uses a comma followed by the coordinating conjunction 'and' to join the two independent clauses.
This matches standard punctuation conventions.

Key Concept

Joining two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction.
Estimated Time:45s
Rate this question

Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

More questions from this topic