One clause, four roles

One clause, four roles

Repunctuating the same words four times as their job in the sentence changes.

1. 45.1PunctuationStandard

   Which choice completes sentence 1?

   • A, which was rebuilt in 1908,
   • Bwhich was rebuilt in 1908
   • C, which was rebuilt in 1908
   • Dwhich was rebuilt in 1908,
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   , which was rebuilt in 1908,

   There is one bridge, so the clause adds information rather than selecting which bridge is meant. Non-essential information dropped into the middle of a sentence takes a comma at both ends.

2. 45.2Sentence boundariesStandard

   Builds on: Question 1 punctuated an interruption. This is a join between two complete sentences, which is a different job and takes different marks — the same comma doing something else.

   Which choice completes sentence 2?

   • A, and
   • B,
   • C;
   • Dand,
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   , and

   Both halves are complete sentences here, so the join needs a comma plus a conjunction. A semicolon would also be correct English but is not offered with a following conjunction, and "and," puts the comma on the wrong side.

3. 45.3PunctuationChallenge

   Builds on: Question 1 used the identical words with commas. The words have not changed; the sentence now has three crossings to choose between, and that alone decides both the punctuation and the pronoun.

   Which choice completes sentence 3?

   • A, which was rebuilt in 1908,
   • Bthat was rebuilt in 1908
   • C, that was rebuilt in 1908,
   • Dwhich was rebuilt in 1908,
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   that was rebuilt in 1908

   Here the clause picks out which of three crossings is meant, so it is essential and takes no commas — and an essential clause of this kind takes "that" rather than "which". The commas in question 1 were correct because there was only one bridge.

4. 45.4PunctuationChallenge

   Builds on: Questions 2 and 3. By now the reader has punctuated a join, an interruption and an essential clause; this is the fourth job those same marks do, and the only one where what follows is a renaming rather than a clause.

   Which choice completes sentence 4?

   • A,
   • B;
   • C:
   • Dand
   Show the answer and reasoningHide the reasoning

   ,

   "A date recorded on the parapet" renames the year rather than continuing the sentence, so it is an appositive at the end of a clause and takes a comma. A semicolon or a colon would both promise something that stands on its own, and it does not.