16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsEasy–MediumSemicolon before 'instead'

Standard English Conventions practice question

The council did not repair the old ____ instead, it built a new one fifty metres upstream.

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

  1. A. footbridge;Correct
  2. B. footbridge,
  3. C. footbridge
  4. D. footbridge, and,

Answer: A. footbridge;

'Instead' joining two independent clauses takes a semicolon before it and a comma after.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. footbridge,
A comma before 'instead' between two clauses is a splice.
C. footbridge
No punctuation is a run-on.
D. footbridge, and,
A stray comma after 'and'.

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