Standard English ConventionsMediumPunctuation: joining independent clauses
Standard English Conventions practice question
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English? Maya trained for months ____ she was determined to finish the marathon.
- A. months, she
- B. months she
- C. months; sheCorrect
- D. months: she
Answer: C. months; she
Both halves are independent clauses. A semicolon correctly joins two related independent clauses. A comma alone (A) is a comma splice; a colon (D) needs the first clause to introduce the second.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. months, she
- 'Maya trained for months' and 'she was determined to finish the marathon' are both complete sentences, so joining them with only a comma creates a comma splice; a semicolon is needed.
- B. months she
- Running two independent clauses together with no punctuation at all makes a fused sentence — these two complete thoughts need a semicolon between them.
- D. months: she
- A colon works when the first clause introduces or points forward to what follows; here the two clauses are simply related statements, so a semicolon is the right connector.
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