16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsMediumMatching dashes around a supplement

Standard English Conventions practice question

The novel's final chapter ____ was cut from the first edition.

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

  1. A. chapter — nearly forty pages long — wasCorrect
  2. B. chapter — nearly forty pages long, was
  3. C. chapter, nearly forty pages long — was
  4. D. chapter nearly forty pages long — was

Answer: A. chapter — nearly forty pages long — was

'nearly forty pages long' is an aside dropped into the middle of the sentence. When an aside is opened with a dash, it must be closed with a dash too, so the pair matches.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. chapter — nearly forty pages long, was
The aside opens with a dash but closes with a comma. The marks around an interrupting phrase have to match — dash with dash, or comma with comma.
C. chapter, nearly forty pages long — was
The aside opens with a comma but closes with a dash. Pick one kind of mark and use it on both sides.
D. chapter nearly forty pages long — was
There's no mark to open the aside, so 'chapter nearly forty pages long' reads as one run-together phrase before a dash appears from nowhere.

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