Standard English ConventionsMediumRestrictive clause takes no commas
Standard English Conventions practice question
Only the samples ____ the purity test were discarded; the rest went on to the sequencing stage.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A. that failedCorrect
- B. that failed,
- C. , that failed,
- D. , that failed
Answer: A. that failed
'That failed' is restrictive — it identifies which samples — so it takes no commas: 'the samples that failed the purity test were discarded.'
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. that failed,
- A lone comma after a restrictive clause wrongly separates subject from verb.
- C. , that failed,
- Restrictive 'that' clauses are never set off with commas.
- D. , that failed
- No comma belongs before restrictive 'that.'
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