A punctuation question tests whether the words around a blank can stand alone, even with phrases in between. First, split at the blank. Find who or what each side is about and the verb saying what it does or is. Periods and semicolons separate full sentences; a comma can attach a phrase or dependent clause to a full sentence. A dependent clause starts with a word that makes it unable to stand alone, but still needs a subject and main verb.
Hints
- Hint 1
Start with the sentence about the motifs linking episodes. Split at the blank and test the words on each side.
- Hint 2
After the blank, look for a verb saying what the sound does. Which verbs belong to the parts beginning with though and whenever instead?
- Hint 3
Test whether acquiring can be a main verb on its own, without adding a helper such as is. Can the words about the sound stand alone?
Step-by-step
Split and check the main verbs
Step 1Check what the marks need
Compare the semicolon version and the period version: both need a full sentence before and after the blank. This question turns on whether the words starting with same sound can stand alone. Both marks need two full sentences, so let's check each side for a subject and a main verb.
- Step 2
Test the first side
Before the blank, These auditory motifs link episodes separated by becomes a full sentence when we add decades. Which word tells us what the motifs do? Link is the main verb, the verb saying what they do, so the first side can stand alone.
- Step 3
Find what belongs to the sound
Does the sound have a main verb of its own? In though its context and the narrator’s response have changed, have changed belongs to the context and response. In whenever the older narrator revisits it, revisits belongs to the narrator. That leaves acquiring new emotional weight, but acquiring is an -ing form and needs a helper such as is to be a main verb. Without that helper, the words about the sound can't stand alone.
- Step 4
Attach the description
Would the version with while fix this? No, because while needs a verb saying what the sound does, and acquiring isn't one by itself. The version with decades, the attaches the sound and its description with a comma, letting acquiring new emotional weight describe the sound rather than start a sentence. Choice A.