Question 152·Medium·Boundaries
Last summer, the town council voted to renovate the deteriorating library _____ the project was delayed when contractors discovered extensive water damage.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For sentence-boundary questions, first determine whether the words on each side of the blank form independent clauses. If so, and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet) is used, expect a comma before the conjunction. Eliminate options that either omit this comma, misuse a semicolon with a conjunction, or misplace the comma.
Hints
Check clause structure
Does each side of the blank have a subject and verb that could stand alone?
Mind punctuation placement
If two complete clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction like "but," where should the comma go?
Comma with coordinating conjunctions
Recall that a comma typically appears before a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
When to use semicolons
Semicolons typically connect two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction; avoid pairing a semicolon with "but."
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the sentence parts
Break the sentence into the ideas on each side of the blank:
- First part: "Last summer, the town council voted to renovate the deteriorating library roof"
- Second part: "the project was delayed when contractors discovered extensive water damage"
Each part has its own subject and verb ("council voted" and "project was delayed"), so both sides are independent clauses.
Confirm the connector
The second clause contrasts with the first: they planned to renovate, but a problem caused a delay. The coordinating conjunction is "but."
Apply the punctuation rule
When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet), place a comma before the conjunction: ..., but ....
Eliminate incorrect choices
- "roof but" is missing the required comma before a coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses.
- "roof; but" incorrectly combines a semicolon with a coordinating conjunction.
- "roof but," misplaces the comma after the conjunction.
Thus, the correct choice is "roof, but."