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Question

Difficulty: HardSemicolons

Passage:
The atmospheric pressure on Venus is ninety times greater than that of Earth; therefore, sending probes to explore the planetary surface requires heavily armored landers that can withstand the crushing environment for only a few hours.

Which of the following options is the most effective punctuation for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. Earth; therefore, sending probesAnswer
  2. B
    Earth, therefore, sending probes
  3. C
    Earth; because sending probes
  4. D
    Earth. Because sending probes

Answer

The correct option is the one that uses a semicolon followed by 'therefore' and a comma to join the two independent clauses.
The original sentence correctly uses a semicolon to connect two closely related independent clauses. The conjunctive adverb 'therefore' is properly preceded by a semicolon and followed by a comma, establishing a logical cause-and-effect relationship without creating a comma splice or run-on sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the clauses surrounding the underlined portion.
The first clause ('The atmospheric pressure on Venus is ninety times greater than that of Earth') and the second clause ('sending probes to explore the planetary surface requires heavily armored landers...') are both independent clauses capable of standing alone as complete sentences.
To determine the correct punctuation, we must first assess whether the clauses are independent or dependent.
2
Evaluate the role of the transitional word 'therefore'.
'Therefore' is a conjunctive adverb, not a coordinating conjunction.
Conjunctive adverbs require a semicolon (or a period) before them and a comma after them when they are used to connect two independent clauses.
3
Analyze the choices to find the one that avoids a comma splice or a sentence fragment.
The original punctuation ('Earth; therefore, sending probes') correctly employs a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after it, maintaining two complete, properly connected sentences.
Other choices introduce grammatical errors such as comma splices or dependent clause fragments.

Key Concept

Semicolons
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Topics

Semicolons

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