Question 169·Easy·Boundaries
In the early twentieth century, department stores began to employ window displays that transformed shopping into a _____ shoppers gathered outside to watch elaborate scenes of everyday life played out by mannequins.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundaries questions, check whether the text on each side of the blank is an independent clause (a complete sentence). If so, allow only correct ways to join/separate independent clauses: semicolon, period (with correct capitalization), or comma + coordinating conjunction. Eliminate comma splices (comma alone) and run-ons (no comma before a coordinating conjunction when joining two independent clauses).
Hints
Check what’s on each side of the blank
Look at the words after the blank. Do they contain a subject and a verb that could stand alone as a sentence?
Decide whether you’re joining two sentences
If the part after the blank is a complete sentence, you’ll need punctuation that can correctly separate/join two independent clauses.
Use the capitalization rule
On the SAT, you cannot change capitalization. If a period would force the next word to be capitalized, eliminate that option.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what comes before the blank
Read up to the blank:
"In the early twentieth century, department stores began to employ window displays that transformed shopping into a"
The subject is department stores, and the verb phrase is began to employ ... that transformed .... This is the start of an independent clause that will be complete once the object (spectacle) is supplied.
Identify the clause after the blank
Read after the blank:
"shoppers gathered outside to watch elaborate scenes of everyday life played out by mannequins."
This has a subject (shoppers) and a verb (gathered), so it is an independent clause.
Decide what kind of boundary is needed
Because the text is forming two independent clauses, the blank must supply a boundary that correctly connects or separates independent clauses. Valid choices include:
- a semicolon
- a period (but then the next sentence must start with a capital letter)
- a comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS)
Test each option
Substitute each option into the sentence:
- spectacle and → "...into a spectacle and shoppers gathered..." This uses a coordinating conjunction to join two independent clauses but is missing the required comma before and, creating a run-on.
- spectacle. → "...into a spectacle. shoppers gathered..." After a period, shoppers would need to be capitalized, but capitalization cannot be changed.
- spectacle, → "...into a spectacle, shoppers gathered..." This is a comma splice (two independent clauses joined by only a comma).
- spectacle; → "...into a spectacle; shoppers gathered..." A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses, so the correct choice is spectacle;.