Fruit-eating bats can detect ripe figs by scent, and early biologists therefore attributed the animals’ choice of feeding trees to smell alone. The animals’ repeated approach to trees where other bats are ______ suggests that social cues also guide their choices.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
In boundary questions involving “however,” do not automatically choose a semicolon. First identify the main subject and verb and determine whether “however” joins two independent clauses or interrupts one clause; then select the punctuation appropriate to that structure.
Hints
Find the core sentence
Identify the complete subject and the main verb of the sentence containing the blank.
Examine the relative clause
Do not mistake the verb inside “where other bats are calling” for the main verb of the sentence.
Determine the transition’s function
Decide whether the transition joins two independent clauses or interrupts a single clause.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify the main subject and verb
The complete subject is “The animals’ repeated approach to trees where other bats are calling,” and its main verb is “suggests.” The verb “are” belongs only to the relative clause “where other bats are calling.”
Determine the role of the transition
“However” does not connect two independent clauses here. Instead, it interrupts the sentence between the complete subject and its main verb to mark a contrast with the preceding sentence.
Set off the interruption
An interrupting “however” must be enclosed by commas: “calling, however, suggests.” A semicolon or colon would incorrectly separate the subject from its main verb.