Question in-195
In 1953, a fellow performer tripped on legendary jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet, bending its bell upward. When Gillespie tested the damaged instrument, he realized that he blank sound of a bent bell over that of a straight one.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
preferred; the
preferred the
preferred, the
preferred. The
In 1953, a fellow performer tripped on legendary jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet, bending its bell
Medium-difficulty · SAT Reading & Writing · Boundaries — Semicolon vs period between independent clauses. Read the question above, select your answer, and check the full explanation below to understand exactly why the correct choice works.
Answer explanation
Choice B is the best answer. The convention being tested is punctuation use between a verb and its object. No punctuation is needed between the verb "preferred" and its object "the sound of a bent bell over that of a straight one." The object helps complete the idea of the verb—in this case, it explains what type of sound Gillespie preferred—and any punctuation between the two results in an ungrammatical sentence.
Choice A is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the verb and its object. Choice C is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the verb and its object. Choice D is incorrect because no punctuation is needed between the verb and its object.
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