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

Question

Botanist Ynés Mexía did not begin her fieldwork until she was fifty-five, but she went on to gather more than 100,000 plant specimens across North and South America. One of her discoveries, a towering shrub in the sunflower ____ still bears her name.

Accepted Answer

B. family,. The phrase “a towering shrub in the sunflower family” is a nonrestrictive appositive renaming “One of her discoveries.” Such a supplement must be enclosed by a matching pair of punctuation marks; since a comma opens it (after “discoveries”), a comma must close it, leaving the main clause “One of her discoveries … still bears her name” intact. (A) omits the closing comma, so the supplement is opened but never closed — a common error of treating only the first boundary as necessary. (C) uses a semicolon, which must join two independent clauses; “still bears her name” is not an independent clause, so this creates a fragment. (D) uses a colon, which must follow an independent clause and introduce an explanation or list; “One of her discoveries, a towering shrub in the sunflower family” is not an independent clause, and no list or explanation follows.

Answer

A. family — The comma after "discoveries" opens a nonrestrictive appositive, so you need a matching comma to close it — leaving it open runs the supplement into "still bears her name."

Answer

C. family; — A semicolon must join two independent clauses, but "still bears her name" has no subject of its own, so this leaves a fragment.

Answer

D. family: — A colon needs a complete independent clause before it, and "One of her discoveries, a towering shrub in the sunflower family" isn't one — plus no list or explanation follows.

Standard English Conventions practice question

Answer: B. family,

Why the other answers are wrong

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