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Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Besides being e...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.Every time I go...
Select the best version of the italicized part of the sentence. If you think the original sentence is best, choose the first answer.It is difficult...
ACT English 2.2 Sentence Structure 298 Views
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Description:
ACT English: Sentence Structure Drill 2, Problem 2. Which punctuation mark best breaks up the sentence?
Transcript
- 00:03
Here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by the comma splice. A member of the lesser
- 00:08
known group The Splice Girls.
- 00:11
How should you change the highlighted portion below, if at all?
- 00:14
Uncle Charles swept up the glass from the broken car. Window he was furious.
- 00:26
Looks like Uncle Charles has a few anger management issues.
Full Transcript
- 00:30
It also looks like we have a case here of two independent clauses that are incorrectly
- 00:34
divided.
- 00:34
We can take choice (A) out of contention right from the get-go. Placing a period between
- 00:38
"car" and "window" doesn't make any sense and just sounds weird, to boot.
- 00:42
In this case, "car" is clearly an adjective that is trying to describe the noun "window."
- 00:46
Putting a period between the two is total craziness.
- 00:49
Plus, starting the second sentence off with, "Window he..." is just plain gobbledygook.
- 00:54
The two intended independent clauses here are, "Uncle Charles swept up the glass from
- 00:59
the broken car window," and "he was furious."
- 01:02
Choices (B), (C), and (D) all seem to agree, because each one places a punctuation mark
- 01:07
between "window" and "he."
- 01:09
Their solidarity doesn't last very long, though, because they disagree with each other as to
- 01:12
which kind of punctuation should be used.
- 01:15
Choice (B) actually pulls a big no-no by trying to connect the two independent clauses with
- 01:19
nothing but a comma.
- 01:20
This typical grammatical mistake is called a "comma splice," and it"s to be avoided at
- 01:24
all costs.
- 01:25
We find ourselves in a bit more of a gray area with choice (D).
- 01:29
Colons can be used to connect two independent clauses. So it's not like (D) is totally and
- 01:33
completely incorrect.
- 01:34
However, when we use a colon to connect two independent clauses, we're signaling that
- 01:38
the second clause is an explanation of the other.
- 01:41
Even though the two clauses are technically independent, it should feel like one needs
- 01:45
the other.
- 01:46
Choice (C) is the correct answer because it uses a period to separate our two independent
- 01:50
clauses, allowing each of them to stand on their own.
- 01:53
P.S. We're taking up a collection to get Uncle Charles some anger management classes, if
- 01:57
anyone's interested...
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