16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardComma before a trailing nonrestrictive participial phrase

Standard English Conventions practice question

The choir sang the anthem ____ having rehearsed it, by the conductor's count, forty-one times.

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

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

Answer: A. faultlessly,

A trailing participial phrase that comments on the whole clause is set off with a comma.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. faultlessly
Without the comma, 'faultlessly having rehearsed' reads as one unit.
C. faultlessly;
A semicolon needs an independent clause after it.
D. faultlessly, and
'And having rehearsed' has no finite verb to coordinate with.

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