Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyDashes

Although often confused with the giant panda, the red panda is in its own unique evolutionary family. The red panda—a small mammal native to the eastern [underlined]Himalayas, is known[/underlined] for its bright reddish-brown fur and acrobatic climbing skills.

Which of the following choices best maintains punctuation consistency in the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Himalayas—is knownAnswer
  3. C
    Himalayas; is known
  4. D
    Himalayas is known

Answer

The correct option is the phrase that replaces the comma with a dash to match the opening dash, resulting in 'Himalayas—is known'.
The sentence contains a parenthetical, nonessential phrase ('a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas') that is introduced with a dash. To ensure grammatical correctness and punctuation consistency, the phrase must also be closed with a dash. The correct option successfully provides this matching dash, linking the subject 'red panda' directly and cleanly to its verb 'is known'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the parenthetical nonessential phrase in the sentence.
The phrase is 'a small mammal native to the eastern Himalayas'.
Nonessential phrases provide extra information and must be set off from the rest of the sentence by consistent punctuation on both sides.
2
Determine the opening punctuation mark of the parenthetical phrase.
The phrase is introduced with a dash after the word 'panda'.
To maintain punctuation consistency, parenthetical elements must be enclosed by matching punctuation marks: either two commas, two parentheses, or two dashes.
3
Select the option that closes the parenthetical phrase with a matching dash.
Replacing the comma with a dash after 'Himalayas' closes the phrase consistently.
This maintains the matching pair of dashes and avoids punctuation mismatches.

Key Concept

Dashes must be used in consistent pairs when enclosing nonessential or parenthetical information in a sentence.
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Dashes

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