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Difficulty: EasyRun-on Sentences and Comma Splices

Many whale species use complex vocalizations to communicate across vast ocean distances. Humpback whales, in particular, compose intricate songs that can last for several hours, these melodies are shared among members of the same pod. Researchers analyze these vocal patterns to map migration routes and better understand marine social structures.

Which choice best replaces the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    hours; sharing these melodies
  3. hours. These melodies are sharedAnswer
  4. D
    hours. Because these melodies are shared

Answer

hours. These melodies are shared
The correct option resolves the comma splice by dividing the two independent clauses into two separate, grammatically complete sentences with a period.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the two clauses in the underlined portion and determine if they are independent.
The clause before the comma ('Humpback whales, in particular, compose intricate songs that can last for several hours') and the clause after the comma ('these melodies are shared among members of the same pod') are both independent clauses because they can stand alone as complete thoughts.
Before deciding how to punctuate the sentence, we must identify the clause structures.
2
Evaluate the choices to find the one that correctly separates or connects these two independent clauses.
Using a period to split them into two distinct sentences is a grammatically correct way to resolve the comma splice.
Two independent clauses cannot be joined by a comma alone (comma splice) or separated by a semicolon when one of them is turned into a fragment.

Key Concept

Identifying and correcting run-on sentences and comma splices by separating independent clauses into complete sentences.
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Topics

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

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