Question 23·Medium·Form, Structure, and Sense
Renowned epidemiologist Dr. Lisa _____ frequently appears on public radio programs to discuss strategies for preventing seasonal flu outbreaks.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For punctuation questions inside a sentence, first identify the subject and verb, then check whether any words between them are nonessential or an interruption. If the subject runs smoothly into the verb with no added side comment or list, avoid adding commas, dashes, or colons between them; instead, keep the subject and verb together with no punctuation unless there is a clear grammatical reason for a break.
Hints
Look at the subject and verb
Identify the full subject of the sentence (who is doing the action) and the verb phrase (what that person does). Does the subject end before the blank, or continue through it?
Ask if there is an interruption
Consider whether any extra or nonessential information is being inserted where the blank is, or if the sentence flows straight from the person’s name into the verb "frequently appears."
Think about what each punctuation mark does
A dash, comma, and colon each create a kind of break or separation. Would adding a break between the person’s name and the verb make the sentence clearer, or would it interrupt a smooth subject–verb connection?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the structure of the sentence
Read the full sentence around the blank:
"Renowned epidemiologist Dr. Lisa _____ frequently appears on public radio programs to discuss strategies for preventing seasonal flu outbreaks."
Everything before the blank is part of the subject (who the sentence is about), and "frequently appears" is the verb phrase (what she does).
Decide if anything is being ‘set off’ or introduced
Ask: Is there any extra, interrupting information that needs to be separated by punctuation? Here, "Renowned epidemiologist" is a description, and "Dr. Lisa Hernandez" is the full name and title. Together they form one complete subject without any extra side comment.
Recall the rule about punctuation between subject and verb
In standard English, you generally do not place a comma, colon, or dash directly between a subject and its verb when the subject is uninterrupted. So if the subject runs smoothly into the verb, you should not insert punctuation right before the verb.
Evaluate each punctuation mark in context
A dash (—) usually shows a strong break in thought, a comma (,) often sets off extra information, and a colon (:) typically comes after a complete clause to introduce an explanation or list. None of these uses apply right before "frequently appears," because the sentence is simply moving from subject to verb.
Therefore, the blank should have no punctuation, so the correct completion is “Hernandez”.