Question 228·Hard·Boundaries
Early drafts of The House of Mirth show that Edith ______ revised the novel's ending multiple times.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For mid-sentence punctuation questions, first read the sentence with the blank removed to see whether the remaining sentence is complete; if it is, whatever gets inserted is likely extra (nonessential) information. Nonessential information inserted in the middle must be set off with a pair of matching punctuation marks (commas, dashes, or parentheses) that do not awkwardly separate the subject from the verb. Then scan the choices for the one that cleanly and consistently brackets the extra phrase while preserving a smooth, grammatical core sentence.
Hints
Check the sentence without the middle phrase
Mentally remove the words "who had not yet achieved literary fame" and see if the sentence is still complete and clear.
Decide if the information is essential or extra
Ask yourself: Do we need the phrase "who had not yet achieved literary fame" to know which Edith Wharton is being discussed, or is it just extra description?
Think about how to punctuate extra information
When you insert extra descriptive information about the subject in the middle of a sentence, what must you place around that information so the main sentence still reads smoothly?
Compare how each choice uses punctuation
Look carefully at what punctuation mark (if any) appears before and after the phrase in each answer choice, and whether it cleanly separates the descriptive phrase from the main subject and verb.
Step-by-step Explanation
Find the core sentence
First, ignore the blank and read the sentence without adding any extra descriptive words:
"Early drafts of The House of Mirth show that Edith Wharton revised the novel's ending multiple times."
This version is already a complete, correct sentence (it has a clear subject and verb).
Identify the kind of information being inserted
Now consider what the choices add after the name "Edith Wharton": they add a relative clause beginning with "who" ("who had not yet achieved literary fame").
Because "Edith Wharton" already identifies a specific person by name, the "who" clause is extra information (nonessential), not information needed to identify which person is meant.
Recall the punctuation rule for nonessential clauses
Nonessential clauses that interrupt the middle of a sentence must be set off on both sides by punctuation.
You can use:
- a pair of commas,
- or a pair of dashes,
- or a pair of parentheses.
The key is that the punctuation must be paired and consistent and must not wrongly break up the main subject and verb.
Test each answer choice against the rule
Insert each option into the sentence and check the punctuation:
- A) "Edith Wharton, who had not yet achieved literary fame, revised the novel's ending multiple times." → The nonessential clause is correctly surrounded by commas on both sides, and the core sentence remains intact.
- B) "Edith Wharton—who had not yet achieved literary fame, revised..." → Starts with a dash but ends with a comma; the interruption is not marked with a matching pair.
- C) "Edith Wharton who had not yet achieved literary fame, revised..." → No punctuation before the clause and a comma awkwardly splits subject and verb.
- D) "Edith Wharton who had not yet achieved literary fame revised..." → No punctuation sets off the extra information.
Only choice A) Wharton, who had not yet achieved literary fame, correctly uses a matching pair of commas to set off the nonessential clause.