Question 199·Easy·Boundaries
The play Silent Echoes premiered at the Glendale _____ venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas, to critical acclaim.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation/boundaries questions, first identify the chunks of the sentence around the blank and decide whether the part after the blank is a complete sentence or just a phrase. Then recall the basic rules: semicolons go between two complete sentences, colons follow a complete sentence and introduce an explanation or list that typically goes to the end, and commas often set off nonessential descriptive phrases (appositives). Quickly test each option by reading the sentence in your head—if the structure feels broken or the clause after a strong mark (semicolon/colon) is not complete, eliminate that choice and choose the mark that cleanly fits the sentence pattern.
Hints
Identify the role of the phrase after the blank
Look at "a venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas"—is this starting a new sentence, or is it describing "the Glendale Theatre"?
Check for a complete sentence after the blank
Ask yourself: if you put very strong punctuation (like a semicolon or colon) at the blank, would the words after it form a complete sentence with a subject and verb?
Think about how English usually inserts extra descriptions
When a sentence drops in extra, nonessential information that renames or describes a noun in the middle of a sentence, what punctuation mark is most often used to separate that information from the rest of the sentence?
Consider the rest of the sentence after the description
Remember that the sentence must still flow smoothly into "to critical acclaim" after the descriptive phrase—avoid punctuation that would make the descriptive phrase feel like the end of the sentence.
Step-by-step Explanation
Locate the key structure around the blank
Focus on the part of the sentence with the blank:
"... premiered at the Glendale _____ venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas, to critical acclaim."
Ask: What is the relationship between "the Glendale Theatre" and "a venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas"?
Recognize the descriptive (appositive) phrase
The words "a venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas" describe or rename "the Glendale Theatre." This kind of phrase is called an appositive—a noun phrase that gives extra, nonessential information about a noun.
We want punctuation that smoothly inserts this descriptive phrase into the sentence without breaking it into two complete sentences.
Recall what each punctuation mark is used for
Think about the usual roles of the punctuation marks in the answer choices:
- A semicolon typically connects two complete sentences (independent clauses) that are closely related.
- A colon usually comes after a complete sentence to introduce a list, explanation, or example; what comes after often runs to the end of the sentence.
- A comma is often used to set off nonessential descriptive phrases (like appositives) within a sentence.
- Having no punctuation here would jam two noun phrases together with no clear separation.
Now check which choice fits the actual structure here: a main sentence with a descriptive phrase in the middle, followed by "to critical acclaim."
Test each choice and select the one that fits best
Plug each option into the sentence:
- Theatre a → "...premiered at the Glendale Theatre a venue renowned..." This incorrectly runs the two noun phrases together with no separation.
- Theatre; a → A semicolon would require what follows to be a complete sentence, but "a venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas" is just a noun phrase, not a full clause.
- Theatre: a → A colon can introduce an explanation, but here the sentence continues with "to critical acclaim," making the colon create an awkward, broken structure rather than cleanly introducing material that finishes the sentence.
The only option that correctly sets off the nonessential descriptive phrase inside the sentence is Theatre, a, giving:
"The play Silent Echoes premiered at the Glendale Theatre, a venue renowned for staging socially conscious dramas, to critical acclaim."