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Question

Difficulty: MediumPunctuation of Nonessential Elements

During his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, British archaeologist Howard Carter made a historic discovery that captured global attention. The tomb of Tutankhamun—a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty who ruled during the New Kingdom period__________contained a spectacular array of gold artifacts, ornate jewelry, and everyday items that provided researchers with unprecedented insights into ancient Egyptian culture.

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

  1. A
    period
  2. period—Answer
  3. C
    period,
  4. D
    period;

Answer

period—
The sentence includes a nonessential appositive phrase ('a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty who ruled during the New Kingdom period') that provides supplementary information about Tutankhamun. Since this phrase is introduced with an em dash, it must also be concluded with a matching em dash to maintain punctuation symmetry.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the nonessential element in the sentence.
The phrase 'a pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty who ruled during the New Kingdom period' is an appositive that provides extra information about Tutankhamun and is not essential to the main clause.
Nonessential elements must be set off from the rest of the sentence by matching punctuation marks.
2
Check the punctuation mark that opens the nonessential element.
The nonessential element begins with an em dash ('Tutankhamun—').
To maintain punctuation symmetry, the nonessential element must be closed with the same type of punctuation mark used to open it.
3
Select the option that closes the nonessential phrase with a matching em dash.
The option containing the word followed by an em dash is correct.
This maintains grammatical consistency and adheres to Standard English conventions.

Key Concept

Punctuation of Nonessential Elements
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Punctuation of Nonessential Elements

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