Question 138·Hard·Boundaries
Shrouded in morning mist, the terraced ruins of Machu Picchu appear almost weightless; early visitors wrote ______ the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation questions testing boundaries, first identify the core grammatical units: the subject, verb, and what follows the verb. Ask whether the part before the punctuation is a complete sentence on its own; only then can it properly take a semicolon or colon. Remember that you should almost never separate a verb from its direct object (including clauses like "that the citadel seemed...") with punctuation. Quickly test each option by reading the sentence aloud in your head—if punctuation creates a break where the sentence feels cut off or incomplete, eliminate that choice and select the one that keeps the structure smooth and grammatical.
Hints
Locate the verb before the blank
Focus on the part of the sentence that contains the blank: "early visitors wrote ______ the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky." What is the main verb right before the blank?
Ask what the visitors "wrote"
Think about the question: What did the visitors write? The words after the blank answer that question. How does that affect whether you should break them away from the verb with punctuation?
Consider whether punctuation is needed after the verb
Is it standard to put a semicolon, comma, or colon between a verb like "wrote" and the clause that tells you exactly what was written?
Check each punctuation mark’s job
Remember what semicolons, commas, and colons normally connect. Does any of those uses fit naturally between "wrote" and "the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky"?
Step-by-step Explanation
Understand the sentence structure
Read the full sentence:
"Shrouded in morning mist, the terraced ruins of Machu Picchu appear almost weightless; early visitors wrote ______ the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky."
There are already two main parts joined by a semicolon:
- Clause 1: the terraced ruins ... appear almost weightless
- Clause 2: early visitors wrote ______ the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky
We are only fixing the structure inside the second clause, right after the verb "wrote."
Identify what comes after the verb "wrote"
Ask: What did the early visitors write?
They wrote the idea that "the citadel seemed to float between earth and sky." That entire idea is a clause functioning as the direct object of the verb "wrote."
So the blank sits between the verb "wrote" and the clause that is its object: wrote ______ the citadel seemed to float...
Recall punctuation rules between a verb and its clause
Normally, when a verb is followed directly by a clause that acts as its object (like said that..., wrote that..., believed that...), we do not separate the verb from that clause with punctuation.
Also remember:
- A semicolon joins two complete sentences (independent clauses).
- A colon comes after a complete sentence to introduce an explanation, list, or example.
- A comma should not usually come between a verb and its direct object clause.
Test each punctuation-mark option against the rules
Now look at the options that add punctuation:
-
"that;" would give: early visitors wrote that; the citadel seemed to float...
This treats "the citadel seemed to float..." as a new sentence and leaves "early visitors wrote that" as if it were complete, which it is not. A semicolon here wrongly breaks the verb from what was written. -
"that," would give: early visitors wrote that, the citadel seemed to float...
This makes a comma splice or awkward break between the verb and its clause; the comma is not needed or correct. -
"that:" would give: early visitors wrote that: the citadel seemed to float...
A colon suggests that "early visitors wrote that" is a complete idea introducing an explanation, but it is not complete and sounds incorrect.
All versions with extra punctuation improperly separate "wrote" from its object clause.
Choose the only option that follows the rules
Since punctuation after "wrote" would incorrectly separate the verb from its direct object clause, the blank must be filled with the word without any added punctuation.
The choice that does this correctly is "that".