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Difficulty: MediumRun-on Sentences and Comma Splices

During the late nineteenth century, the expansion of the transcontinental railroad transformed the American West, it allowed goods to be shipped across the country in days rather than months. Consequently, remote towns grew into bustling economic hubs almost overnight, attracting merchants and laborers alike. This rapid industrialization, however, also brought significant environmental challenges to the region.

Which of the following choices best corrects the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    transformed the American West; allowing
  3. transformed the American West, allowingAnswer
  4. D
    transformed the American West; because it allowed

Answer

The choice that reads 'transformed the American West, allowing' correctly resolves the comma splice by converting the second clause into a modifying participial phrase.
The correct option resolves the comma splice by replacing the independent clause 'it allowed' with the participial phrase 'allowing'. This structure grammatically modifies the main clause without creating a fragment or a run-on sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical error in the original sentence.
The original sentence contains a comma splice because the independent clause 'the expansion of the transcontinental railroad transformed the American West' is joined to another independent clause 'it allowed goods...' with only a comma.
Determining the existing error is necessary to choose the appropriate correction.
2
Evaluate the choices to find which one corrects the comma splice without creating a fragment.
Changing the second clause into a participial phrase beginning with 'allowing' correctly modifies the main clause and eliminates the run-on structure.
This resolves the punctuation and clause connection error while maintaining grammatical correctness.

Key Concept

Identifying and correcting run-on sentences and comma splices by modifying clause structure or punctuation.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Run-on Sentences and Comma Splices

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