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Difficulty: HardCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

Although the paleontologist had expected to find only common bivalve fossils in the limestone stratum, she instead uncovered a well-preserved, complete, skeleton of an ancient marine reptile, which she spent the next week carefully excavating.

Which of the following choices best punctuates the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    well-preserved complete skeleton of an ancient marine reptile, she
  3. well-preserved, complete skeleton of an ancient marine reptile, which sheAnswer
  4. D
    well-preserved, complete skeleton of an ancient marine reptile; which she

Answer

The correct option is the one that separates the coordinate adjectives with a comma, has no comma before the noun, and uses a comma to introduce the dependent relative clause.
The correct option properly punctuates the sentence by placing a comma between the coordinate adjectives 'well-preserved' and 'complete' to show they independently modify the noun 'skeleton'. It correctly removes the erroneous comma before 'skeleton' and uses a comma to set off the non-essential relative clause starting with 'which'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the coordinate adjectives modifying the noun 'skeleton'.
The adjectives 'well-preserved' and 'complete' are coordinate because they can be reversed ('complete, well-preserved skeleton') and can be joined by 'and' ('well-preserved and complete skeleton'). Therefore, they must be separated by a comma, but no comma should be placed between the final adjective 'complete' and the noun 'skeleton'.
To ensure proper punctuation rules for coordinate adjectives are applied.
2
Determine the relationship between the main clause and the relative clause.
The clause beginning with 'which' is a non-essential relative clause that adds descriptive info about the skeleton. It must be separated from the main clause by a comma, not a semicolon or no punctuation.
To determine the correct punctuation at the clause boundary.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that meets all grammatical requirements.
The choice containing 'well-preserved, complete skeleton... which she' is the only option that correctly applies both coordinate adjective punctuation and non-essential clause punctuation without introducing comma splices or fragments.
To select the grammatically correct option.

Key Concept

Commas with Coordinate Adjectives and Non-essential Relative Clauses
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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