16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardSemicolon between two long independent clauses

Standard English Conventions practice question

Lise Meitner's contribution to the discovery of nuclear fission was overlooked by the Nobel committee in ____ many historians now regard the omission as one of the prize's clearest errors.

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

  1. A. 1944;Correct
  2. B. 1944,
  3. C. 1944
  4. D. 1944, which

Answer: A. 1944;

Two independent clauses need a semicolon (or a full stop) between them.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. 1944,
A comma alone between two independent clauses is a comma splice.
C. 1944
Two clauses run together with no punctuation.
D. 1944, which
"which many historians now regard the omission as" has no grammatical place for "which".

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