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Difficulty: EasyColons, Semicolons, and Dashes

Many carnivorous plants rely on passive traps to capture their food; however, the Venus flytrap (*Dionaea muscipula*) employs an active mechanism to ensure it does not waste energy on false alarms. When an insect touches the trap's sensory hairs, the plant does not close immediately on the _______ must detect a second touch within twenty seconds to trigger closure.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. prey; itAnswer
  2. B
    prey, it
  3. C
    prey it
  4. D
    prey; because it

Answer

prey; it
The correct option correctly uses a semicolon to separate two independent clauses. The clause before the blank is independent, and the pronoun 'it' starts a second independent clause, making the semicolon the appropriate punctuation mark.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the clauses surrounding the blank space.
The clause before the blank ('When an insect touches the trap's sensory hairs, the plant does not close immediately on the prey') is an independent clause because it contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence. The clause after the blank ('it must detect a second touch within twenty seconds to trigger closure') is also an independent clause.
Identifying clause types determines the correct punctuation needed to connect them.
2
Determine the appropriate punctuation to link two independent clauses.
Two independent clauses can be joined by a semicolon (without a coordinating conjunction) or a period, or by a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (like 'and' or 'but'). The option with a semicolon followed by a pronoun ('prey; it') is grammatically correct.
Standard English conventions require a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction to link independent clauses.

Key Concept

Using semicolons to connect independent clauses
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes

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