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Difficulty: Very hardCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

The architect designed a corporate headquarters with a striking, modern, glass facade, a spacious central atrium, and a sustainable rooftop garden, but the board of directors rejected the proposal due to budget constraints.

Which of the following options represents the most grammatically correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    striking, modern glass facade, a spacious central atrium, and a sustainable rooftop garden, the board of directors rejected
  3. C
    striking, modern glass facade, a spacious central atrium, and a sustainable rooftop garden; although the board of directors rejected
  4. striking, modern glass facade, a spacious central atrium, and a sustainable rooftop garden, but the board of directors rejectedAnswer

Answer

The choice that correctly punctuates 'striking, modern glass facade' without a comma before 'glass', separates the list items with commas, and uses a comma before the coordinating conjunction 'but' to connect the independent clauses.
The correct choice properly distinguishes between the coordinate adjectives 'striking' and 'modern' (separated by a comma) and the cumulative adjective 'glass' (which should not have a comma separating it from 'modern'). Additionally, it correctly maintains the commas separating the three items in the list and includes a comma before the coordinating conjunction 'but' to join the two independent clauses.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify coordinate vs. cumulative adjectives.
'Striking' and 'modern' modify 'glass facade' independently (they are coordinate, requiring a comma), but 'glass' describes the material of the facade and forms a unit with it (cumulative), meaning no comma should separate 'modern' from 'glass'.
Coordinate adjectives require separating punctuation, whereas cumulative adjectives must not be separated by commas.
2
Evaluate the list punctuation.
The sentence lists three distinct architectural elements: 'a striking, modern glass facade', 'a spacious central atrium', and 'a sustainable rooftop garden'. These should be separated by commas, including an Oxford comma before the coordinating conjunction 'and'.
Commas are required to separate three or more items in a series.
3
Analyze the boundary between clauses.
The sentence consists of two independent clauses: 'The architect designed a corporate headquarters...' and 'the board of directors rejected the proposal...'. To join them grammatically, a comma must precede the coordinating conjunction 'but'.
A comma and a coordinating conjunction are required to link two independent clauses.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between coordinate and cumulative adjectives, structuring items in a list, and using coordinating conjunctions to join independent clauses.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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