16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsEasyNo punctuation between a subject and its verb

Standard English Conventions practice question

The Mexican artist Diego Rivera believed that art belonged on public walls rather than in private collections. The enormous fresco he completed for the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1933 ____ twenty-seven panels depicting workers on an automobile assembly line.

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. A. includesCorrect
  2. B. , includes
  3. C. includes,
  4. D. ; includes

Answer: A. includes

No punctuation should separate the subject ("The enormous fresco he completed...in 1933") from its verb or the verb from its object, so the unpunctuated "includes" is correct. (B) inserts a comma between the subject and the verb, an error students make after a long subject. (C) inserts a comma between the verb and its direct object. (D) uses a semicolon, which must join two independent clauses; "includes twenty-seven panels..." is not an independent clause.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. , includes
The long subject "The enormous fresco he completed...in 1933" can tempt you to pause with a comma, but a subject should never be separated from its verb by punctuation.
C. includes,
This comma splits the verb "includes" from its direct object "twenty-seven panels," which punctuation should never do.
D. ; includes
A semicolon must join two independent clauses, but "includes twenty-seven panels depicting workers..." has no subject of its own and can't stand alone.

More Standard English Conventions questions

Not affiliated with the College Board. SAT is a trademark of the College Board.