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Difficulty: Very hardCommas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

The committee faced numerous setbacks while revising the organization's charter. The document that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate, which outlined the new bylaws was finally approved by the board of directors. This decision marked the beginning of a new era of governance for the institution.

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

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate, which outlined the new bylaws, wasAnswer
  3. C
    , that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate, which outlined the new bylaws, was
  4. D
    that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate; which outlined the new bylaws, was

Answer

The correct option is the one that leaves the restrictive clause without commas and sets off the nonessential relative clause with a pair of commas.
The correct option properly integrates the restrictive clause 'that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate' without any commas, and correctly encloses the nonessential relative clause 'which outlined the new bylaws' in a pair of commas, placing one before 'which' and one after 'bylaws'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the syntactic roles of the clauses modifying the noun 'document'.
The clause 'that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate' is essential (restrictive) because it specifies which document was approved. The clause 'which outlined the new bylaws' is nonessential (nonrestrictive) because it merely adds descriptive detail about the document's contents.
Identifying the clause types dictates their punctuation: restrictive clauses must not have commas, whereas nonrestrictive clauses must be set off by commas.
2
Evaluate the punctuation needed around each clause.
No commas should precede or follow 'that the committee drafted after weeks of intense debate'. However, a pair of commas must enclose the nonessential clause 'which outlined the new bylaws' (one comma before 'which' and one after 'bylaws').
A pair of parenthetical commas must be used to enclose a nonessential element in the middle of a sentence, without interrupting the flow of essential modifiers.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between restrictive (essential) and nonrestrictive (nonessential) relative clauses to apply correct comma punctuation.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Commas with Nonessential and Parenthetical Elements

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