Question 179·Medium·Boundaries
The lecture was intended to be purely _____ the speaker's engaging anecdotes kept the audience enthralled.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation boundary questions, first determine whether the text on both sides of the blank forms independent clauses. If both sides are complete, remember your joining options: comma + coordinating conjunction, semicolon alone, or sometimes colon alone. If a coordinating conjunction like "but" is present, use a comma before it; do not pair a semicolon or colon with it, and do not omit the needed comma.
Hints
Make the left side complete
Mentally plug in the content from a choice so the left side reads "The lecture was intended to be purely theoretical." Now check if both sides are complete clauses.
Consider the conjunction
All choices include the word "but." What type of word is it, and what relationship does it signal between ideas?
Recall the rule for FANBOYS
When two independent clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so), what punctuation belongs just before that conjunction?
Semicolons and colons with conjunctions?
Are semicolons or colons normally used together with a coordinating conjunction in the middle, or do they usually appear alone between clauses?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the clauses
Mentally insert the word from the choices to read the sentence as two parts:
- "The lecture was intended to be purely theoretical"
- "the speaker's engaging anecdotes kept the audience enthralled"
Each part is an independent clause with its own subject and verb.
Recognize the role of "but"
"But" is a coordinating conjunction (one of FANBOYS) that shows contrast. When linking two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction, the standard pattern is a comma before the conjunction.
Eliminate semicolon/colon pairings with a conjunction
A semicolon or colon typically appears by itself between clauses, not combined with a coordinating conjunction. Thus, "theoretical; but" and "theoretical: but" are not acceptable.
Choose the correct punctuation
Between "theoretical but" and "theoretical, but," the comma is required before a coordinating conjunction that links two independent clauses. Therefore, the correct choice is "theoretical, but."