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Difficulty: MediumCommas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

In the sentence below, a portion is underlined.

During the meticulous restoration of a Renaissance tapestry, textile conservators uncovered a vibrant, intricate, weave hidden beneath a layer of coarse backing cloth.

Which of the following choices best replaces the underlined portion to adhere to standard conventions of punctuation?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. vibrant, intricate weaveAnswer
  3. C
    vibrant intricate, weave
  4. D
    vibrant intricate weave

Answer

The correct choice is 'vibrant, intricate weave', which places a comma between the coordinate adjectives and no comma before the noun.
The modifiers 'vibrant' and 'intricate' are coordinate adjectives modifying the noun 'weave'. Because they pass the tests for coordinate adjectives (you can insert 'and' between them or reverse their order without changing meaning), they must be separated by a comma. Additionally, no comma should separate the final adjective from the noun it modifies.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the grammatical role of the words in the underlined phrase.
'Vibrant' and 'intricate' are adjectives modifying the noun 'weave'.
Determining part of speech dictates punctuation rules.
2
Test if the adjectives are coordinate.
Inserting 'and' ('vibrant and intricate') and reversing the order ('intricate, vibrant') both maintain sound meaning.
Coordinate adjectives require a separating comma.
3
Check punctuation between the final adjective and the noun.
No comma should ever separate a single modifier directly from the noun it modifies.
Separating an adjective from its noun with a comma creates an ungrammatical pause.

Key Concept

Coordinate Adjectives and Noun-Modifier Boundaries
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Topics

Commas with Lists, Clauses, and Coordinate Adjectives

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