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Question

Difficulty: MediumSemicolons

Which punctuation mark is grammatically appropriate to join the two closely related independent clauses in the sentence below?

Answer:Some species of mushrooms exhibit bioluminescence to attract nocturnal insects 【;】 these insects then distribute the fungal spores throughout the forest floor.

Answer

A semicolon (;) is the correct punctuation mark to join these two independent clauses.
A semicolon is the grammatically correct punctuation mark to connect two closely related independent clauses when a coordinating conjunction is not used.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clauses in the sentence to determine their structure.
The sentence contains two independent clauses: 'Some species of mushrooms exhibit bioluminescence to attract nocturnal insects' and 'these insects then distribute the fungal spores throughout the forest floor'.
Understanding clause boundaries is necessary to determine the appropriate punctuation needed to connect them.
2
Evaluate the relationship between the clauses and select the appropriate punctuation.
Since both clauses are independent, closely related in meaning, and lack a coordinating conjunction (such as 'and' or 'but'), they should be connected with a semicolon.
A semicolon is grammatically used to join closely related independent clauses without creating a run-on sentence or a comma splice.

Key Concept

Semicolons are used to connect two independent clauses that are closely related in thought when no coordinating conjunction is present.
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Semicolons

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