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Question

Difficulty: MediumColons, Semicolons, and Dashes

In sociology, 'third places' refer to social surroundings separate from the two primary environments of home and the workplace. According to sociologist Ray Oldenburg, these spaces are essential for civil society and civic engagement ________ they host regular, voluntary, and informal gatherings of individuals.

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

  1. engagement: theyAnswer
  2. B
    engagement, they
  3. C
    engagement; hosting
  4. D
    engagement, they hosting

Answer

engagement: they
The option containing 'engagement: they' is correct because the clause before the punctuation mark is independent, and the clause after it is also independent and directly explains or expands upon the idea in the first clause. A colon is grammatically appropriate to join two independent clauses under these explanatory circumstances.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the structure of the clause preceding the blank.
'According to sociologist Ray Oldenburg, these spaces are essential for civil society and civic engagement' is an independent clause because it has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence.
Determining whether the first clause is independent is necessary to apply the rules for colons and semicolons.
2
Identify the structure of the clause following the blank.
'they host regular, voluntary, and informal gatherings of individuals' is also an independent clause.
Determining the structure of the second clause helps identify the appropriate punctuation mark needed to connect them.
3
Evaluate how the two clauses relate to each other.
The second clause explains or elaborates on the first clause by detailing why third places are essential.
A colon is the most appropriate punctuation mark to link two independent clauses when the second clause explains or expands upon the first.

Key Concept

Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes
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Topics

Colons, Semicolons, and Dashes

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