Standard English ConventionsHardComma pair around a nonessential participial phrase
Standard English Conventions practice question
The manuscript ____ was sold at auction for a record sum.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
- A. , discovered in a farmhouse attic,Correct
- B. discovered in a farmhouse attic
- C. , discovered in a farmhouse attic
- D. discovered in a farmhouse attic,
Answer: A. , discovered in a farmhouse attic,
'discovered in a farmhouse attic' adds background about an already-identified manuscript. A nonessential phrase in mid-sentence takes a comma on each side.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. discovered in a farmhouse attic
- Without commas, 'The manuscript discovered in a farmhouse attic' becomes a restrictive description, as if picking one manuscript out of several.
- C. , discovered in a farmhouse attic
- Only the opening comma; the phrase must be closed before 'was'.
- D. discovered in a farmhouse attic,
- Only the closing comma; the phrase must be opened after 'manuscript'.
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