Question 149·200 Super-Hard SAT Reading Questions·Standard English Conventions
Growing rapidly in the late nineteenth century, Chicago became a hub for both industry and _____ many of the city’s streets were laid out in a grid.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
For boundaries questions, determine whether the text before and after the blank are independent clauses by locating the subject and verb on each side. If you have two independent clauses, only a few connectors are allowed (semicolon, or comma + coordinating conjunction). Then quickly check meaning: colons require an explanation/list relationship, while “, and” fits simple addition.
Hints
Check whether the part after the blank is a full sentence
Does “many of the city’s streets were laid out in a grid” have both a subject and a verb, making it an independent clause?
Check whether the part before the blank is also a full sentence
After you fill in “culture,” does the first part have a subject and verb (an independent clause)?
Choose a connector that joins two independent clauses
If you’re joining two independent clauses in one sentence and the relationship is simply additive, what punctuation pattern is typically required?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what’s on each side of the blank
- Before the blank: “Growing rapidly in the late nineteenth century, Chicago became a hub for both industry and culture” has a subject (Chicago) and verb (became), so it’s an independent clause.
- After the blank: “many of the city’s streets were laid out in a grid” has a subject (many) and verb (were laid out), so it’s also an independent clause.
So the blank must correctly connect two independent clauses.
Recall the standard ways to join two independent clauses
To keep two independent clauses in one sentence, standard options include:
- a semicolon, or
- a comma + coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS), such as “, and” when the relationship is additive.
Eliminate choices that break boundary rules
- culture and: This creates a run-on by joining two independent clauses with no comma before the coordinating conjunction.
- culture; and: A semicolon can join independent clauses by itself; adding “and” after it is nonstandard and redundant.
- culture:: A colon should introduce an explanation, definition, or list; the second clause is simply additional information, not an explanation or list.
The only choice that correctly joins the two independent clauses with an additive meaning is culture, and.