16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardDash pair enclosing an interruption

Standard English Conventions practice question

Signal's predecessor — a black tom whose name nobody now ____ is buried under the platform bench.

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

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

Answer: A. remembers —

The interruption opened with a dash closes with a dash.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. remembers,
A comma can't close what a dash opened.
C. remembers;
Nor can a semicolon.
D. remembers
With no closing mark, the aside swallows the verb.

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