16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardDash pair enclosing an aside with internal punctuation

Standard English Conventions practice question

The last keeper — a man who, by his own account, never once saw a ghost ____ left in 1994.

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

  1. A. there —Correct
  2. B. there,
  3. C. there;
  4. D. there

Answer: A. there —

The aside opened with a dash closes with a dash, whatever punctuation lies inside it.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. there,
A comma can't close a dash.
C. there;
Nor can a semicolon.
D. there
With no closing mark, the aside swallows 'left in 1994'.

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