16Hit1600
Standard English ConventionsVery hardClosing an interrupting which clause before the verb

Standard English Conventions practice question

The manuscript, ____ was sold to a private collector.

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

  1. A. which had been thought lost since the war,Correct
  2. B. which had been thought lost since the war
  3. C. which had been thought lost since the war;
  4. D. that had been thought lost since the war,

Answer: A. which had been thought lost since the war,

The nonessential clause is closed by a comma before "was sold".

Why the other answers are wrong

B. which had been thought lost since the war
Never closed.
C. which had been thought lost since the war;
A semicolon leaves fragments.
D. that had been thought lost since the war,
"that" clauses do not take commas, and the opening comma is already there.

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