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Soru

Zorluk: OrtaDashes

A student is writing an essay about unique linguistic traditions. The passage below contains an underlined portion that may contain a punctuation error.

Historically spoken on the Canary Island of La Gomera, Silbo Gomero is a whistled language that mimics the phonetic structure of Spanish. The rugged topography of the island—a landscape defined by deep ravines and steep valleys—made whistling an efficient way to communicate across distances of up to five kilometers. Because the language translates Spanish vowels and consonants into high- and low-pitched whistles, speakers—known locally as *silbadores*, can convey complex messages across the mountainous terrain. Historically used by shepherds, this unique form of communication is now taught in local schools to ensure its survival.

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

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. speakers—known locally as *silbadores*—canCevap
  3. C
    speakers; known locally as *silbadores*, can
  4. D
    speakers. Known locally as *silbadores*, they can

Cevap

The option that uses matching dashes, written as 'speakers—known locally as *silbadores*—can', is correct because it maintains punctuation consistency to set off the parenthetical description.
The correct answer correctly uses a pair of dashes to set off the nonessential appositive phrase 'known locally as *silbadores*'. When a sentence contains a nonessential element in the middle, it must be enclosed by a matching pair of punctuation marks (either two commas, two dashes, or two parentheses). Since the parenthetical phrase begins with a dash after 'speakers', it must also end with a dash before 'can'.

Adım Adım Çözüm

1
Identify the parenthetical (nonessential) phrase in the sentence.
The phrase 'known locally as *silbadores*' adds extra details about the speakers but is not essential to the core grammatical structure of the sentence.
Nonessential phrases must be set off from the rest of the sentence by a matching pair of punctuation marks (commas, dashes, or parentheses).
2
Evaluate the punctuation surrounding the nonessential phrase for consistency.
The phrase begins with a dash ('speakers—'). Therefore, it must end with a matching dash before the main verb 'can' ('*silbadores*—can').
Using mismatched punctuation (such as starting with a dash and ending with a comma, semicolon, or period) violates the rule of punctuation consistency and creates grammatical errors.

Anahtar Kavram

Punctuation consistency with dashes for nonessential parenthetical phrases
Bu soruyu puanla

Konular

Dashes

Bu konudan daha fazla soru