Boundaries Test- 1 - SAT MCQ

Choice A. This choice results in a run-on sentence error. Both clauses in this sentence could stand alone as complete sentences, which means they are both independent clauses. Independent clauses need to have certain kinds of punctuation marks between them. This choice doesn't use any punctuation between the two clauses.

Choice B. This choice results in a comma splice error. Both clauses in this sentence could stand alone as complete sentences, which means they are both independent clauses. A comma by itself is not enough punctuation to link two independent clauses.

Choice C. This choice results in a run-on sentence error. Both clauses in this sentence could stand alone as complete sentences, which means they are both independent clauses. Independent clauses can only be linked in a few ways, including with a comma plus a coordinating conjunction. This choice uses the coordinating conjunction "and", but it is missing the comma beforehand.

Choice D. This is the best choice. Both clauses in this sentence could stand alone as complete sentences, which means they are both independent clauses. This choice uses a comma plus a coordinating conjunction to link them together, which is one of the correct ways to link two independent clauses.

Choice A. This choice creates a comma splice error. Both "it . . . fossils" and "the majority . . . labor" are independent clauses, so they can't be linked by just a comma.

Choice B. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. Both "it . . . fossils" and "the majority . . . labor" are independent clauses, so they need to be separated by some type of punctuation.

Choice C. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. Both "it . . . fossils" and "the majority . . . labor" are independent clauses, so they need to be separated by some type of punctuation.

Choice D. This is the best choice. The coordinating conjunction "but" grammatically links the two independent clauses while logically indicating the contrast between them.

Choice A. This choice creates a punctuation error. What comes before the semicolon isn't an independent clause, so a semicolon can't be used.

Choice B. This choice creates a coordination error. The coordinating conjunction "but" is redundant with the subordinating conjunction "though", which appears at the start of the sentence.

Choice C. This is the best choice. It appropriately uses a comma to link a dependent clause to an independent clause without introducing any logic or redundancy errors.

Choice D. This choice creates a run on sentence error. The dependent clause "though . . . Revolution" must be separated with punctuation from the independent clause that follows.

Choice A. This is the best choice. "A combination of fiction and memoir, poetry and prose" is a nonessential supplement, so it needs to be set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of matching punctuation marks. We already have a dash at the beginning of the supplement, so we need to add a dash at the end of the supplement to match.

Choice B. This doesn't complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. "A combination of fiction and memoir, poetry and prose" is a nonessential supplement, so it needs to be set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of matching punctuation marks. We already have a dash at the beginning of the supplement, so we need to add a dash at the end of the supplement to match.

Choice C. This doesn't complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. "A combination of fiction and memoir, poetry and prose" is a nonessential supplement, so it needs to be set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of matching punctuation marks. We already have a dash at the beginning of the supplement, so we need to add a dash at the end of the supplement to match.

Choice D. This doesn't complete the text in a way that conforms to the conventions of Standard English. "A combination of fiction and memoir, poetry and prose" is a nonessential supplement, so it needs to be set off from the rest of the sentence with a pair of matching punctuation marks. We already have a dash at the beginning of the supplement, so we need to add a dash at the end of the supplement to match.

Choice A. This choice creates a punctuation error. It fails to appropriately separate a nonessential element ("a large . . . America") from the rest of the sentence. While a comma appears at the end of the element, no punctuation appears at its start.

Choice B. This choice creates a punctuation error. It inappropriately uses both a dash and a comma to separate a nonessential element ("a large . . . America") from the rest of the sentence.

Choice C. This choice creates a punctuation error. No comma should appear before the preposition phrase "to North America". "Native to" is a conventional expression that shouldn't be broken up with a comma.

Choice D. This is the best choice. It appropriately uses a comma to separate a nonessential element ("a large . . . America") from the rest of the sentence. Notice that this comma matches the comma at the end of the element.

Choice A. This choice creates a punctuation error. It inappropriately uses both a dash and a comma to separate a nonessential element ("a sovereign . . . Caribbean") from the rest of the sentence.

Choice B. This is the best choice. It appropriately uses a dash to separate a nonessential element ("a sovereign . . . Caribbean") from the rest of the sentence. Notice that this dash matches the dash at the end of the element.

Choice C. This choice creates a punctuation error. It fails to appropriately separate a nonessential element ("a sovereign . . . Caribbean") from the rest of the sentence. While a dash appears at the start of the element, no punctuation appears at its end.

Choice D. This choice creates a punctuation error. The clauses before and after the semicolon aren't independent clauses, so a semicolon can't be used.

Notice how the only thing that changes in the choices is what type of punctuation mark is used. That tells us this question focuses on punctuation.

Let's look at what comes before and after the blank:

Before the blank, there is a long and complicated noun phrase ("the reason . . . while falling")

After the blank is a verb ("is")

Both semicolons and colons must follow an independent clause. Neither side of the blank is an independent clause, so we can eliminate choices B and C.

We know that a comma shouldn't come between a subject and verb, so we don't want a comma here either. We can eliminate choice A.

The only choice that avoids making any punctuation errors is choice D, which actually avoids including punctuation. Choice D is the answer.

Choice A. This choice creates a punctuation error. What comes before the colon isn't an independent clause, so a colon can't be used.

Choice B. This choice creates a punctuation error. What comes before (and after) the semicolon isn't an independent clause, so a semicolon can't be used.

Choice C. This choice creates a punctuation error. No comma should interrupt the prepositional phrase "to the number".

Choice D. This is the best choice. It eliminates all unnecessary punctuation from the sentence.

Choice A. This choice creates a comma splice error. Both "Charles . . . Harriet" and "she . . . 2006" are independent clauses, so they can't be linked by only a comma.

Choice B. This choice creates a punctuation error. What comes after the semicolon "who . . . 2006" isn't an independent clause, so a semicolon can't be used.

Choice C. This choice creates a run-on sentence error. It fails to use punctuation to separate two independent clauses.

Choice D. This is the best choice. It appropriately uses a semicolon to link two independent clauses ("Charles . . . Harriet" and "she . . . 2006).

Option B is the correct answer because it uses the semicolon to link two closely related independent clauses. Option A should use a comma instead of a semicolon, and option C incorrectly uses a semicolon; it should use a comma or be two separate sentences.