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Difficulty: HardCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

In 1912, Alfred Wegener introduced a revolutionary idea that would reshape our understanding of Earth. Wegener, the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift, faced intense skepticism from his peers. Decades later, the discovery of seafloor spreading finally vindicated his vision.

Which of the following choices is the correct punctuation for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. NO CHANGEAnswer
  2. B
    , the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift
  3. C
    , the meteorologist, who proposed the theory of continental drift,
  4. D
    ; the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift,

Answer

NO CHANGE
The correct option preserves the two commas enclosing the nonessential appositive 'the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift' without inserting an incorrect comma before the restrictive relative clause 'who proposed...'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the syntactic role of the underlined phrase relative to the subject.
The phrase 'the meteorologist who proposed the theory of continental drift' is an appositive renaming the subject 'Wegener'. Because 'Wegener' is a proper noun, this descriptive information is nonessential and must be enclosed in commas.
Nonessential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence by a pair of matching commas.
2
Evaluate the restrictive status of the relative clause within the appositive.
The relative clause 'who proposed the theory of continental drift' is restrictive (essential) because it defines which meteorologist is being discussed. Therefore, there should be no comma before 'who'.
Restrictive elements should not be set off or separated from their referents by commas.
3
Select the option that maintains the correct parenthetical commas without introducing internal punctuation errors.
The version with a comma after Wegener and a comma after drift, with no internal comma before who, is correct.
This punctuation correctly distinguishes essential and nonessential modifications.

Key Concept

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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