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Difficulty: MediumCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

For centuries, the ancient city of Petra remained hidden from the Western world behind a wall of sandstone cliffs. In 1812, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, a scholar who was fluent in Arabic finally gained entry to the valley. Disguised as a Bedouin, he successfully bypassed local guards to document the breathtaking ruins.

Which of the following options represents the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Burckhardt, a scholar who was fluent in Arabic,Answer
  3. C
    Burckhardt, a scholar, who was fluent in Arabic,
  4. D
    Burckhardt; a scholar who was fluent in Arabic,

Answer

The correct option is the one that sets off the nonessential appositive with a pair of commas: 'Burckhardt, a scholar who was fluent in Arabic,'
The correct option correctly uses a pair of commas to set off the nonessential appositive phrase 'a scholar who was fluent in Arabic' from the main clause. Because this phrase provides extra, nonessential information about the explorer, it must be enclosed by commas on both sides.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify whether the underlined phrase is essential or nonessential to the sentence structure.
The phrase 'a scholar who was fluent in Arabic' is an appositive that describes Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Removing it leaves a grammatically complete sentence: 'In 1812, Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt finally gained entry to the valley.' Therefore, the phrase is nonessential.
Nonessential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence using punctuation on both sides.
2
Determine the correct punctuation to set off the nonessential appositive.
The appositive begins with a comma after 'Burckhardt', so it must end with a comma after 'Arabic' before the main verb 'finally'. Inside the appositive, the relative clause 'who was fluent in Arabic' is restrictive to 'scholar' and should not be separated from it by a comma. A semicolon cannot be used because the appositive is not an independent clause.
Applying these rules ensures the sentence is grammatically correct and clearly distinguishes between essential and nonessential information.

Key Concept

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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