A punctuation question after words that announce more information tests how the next part connects. First, cover what follows and test whether the earlier words can stand alone. Then find the job of what follows: does it explain, list, or start another sentence? A colon attaches an explanation or list to a full sentence; outside a list, periods and semicolons separate full sentences, while commas separate items or attach descriptions. Decide by sentence structure, not by where you'd pause.
Hints
- Hint 1
Start with the words before the blank. Once you add the word shared by every choice, can those words stand alone as a sentence?
- Hint 2
Look for a main verb after the blank. Do the dialect names and their descriptions form a full sentence, or do they name the dialects Alonso discussed?
Step-by-step
Find the job, then test the sentence
Step 1Test the words before the mark
Read through linguist Maya Alonso discussed two dialects of the Basque language as, adding the word follows that every choice gives. Does the sentence through as follows stand alone? Yes: Maya Alonso is the person the sentence is about, and discussed is the main verb, which tells what she did. The opening about her paper tells where she discussed the dialects, while as follows promises details, so the words before the mark form a full sentence.
- Step 2
Check whether the dialect names form a sentence
After the blank, Biscayan, spoken near Bilbao names one dialect and describes where it's spoken, and Gipuzkoan, prevalent along the eastern coast does the same for the other. Could those words stand alone as a sentence? No: spoken describes Biscayan, but it would need a helper such as is to be a main verb; prevalent means common and isn't a verb. Those descriptions don't give the dialect names a main verb, so what follows is a list, not a second full sentence.
- Step 3
Attach the promised list
Which mark can attach the promised details? The version with a semicolon and the version with a period need a full sentence after the mark, so they can't introduce these names and descriptions. A comma can separate items or attach descriptions within a list, but it can't introduce the list announced by as follows. A colon introduces a list after a full sentence, so follows: attaches the names promised by two dialects of the Basque language. Choice B.