Question #N926
“The sun,” he wrote, “is a giant ball of burning gas that provides warmth and light to the earth, and without it, no life could exist on our planet.”
Which choice best corrects the punctuation errors in the sentence?
A. “The sun,” he wrote, “is a giant ball of burning gas that provides warmth and light to the earth and without it, no life could exist on our planet.”
B. “The sun,” he wrote, “is a giant ball of burning gas that provides warmth and light to the earth; and without it, no life could exist on our planet.”
C. “The sun,” he wrote, “is a giant ball of burning gas that provides warmth and light to the earth, and without it, no life could exist on our planet.”
D. “The sun,” he wrote, “is a giant ball of burning gas that provides warmth and light to the earth, and without it no life could exist on our planet.”
Correct Answer is: D
The original sentence contains a comma splice. The comma after "earth" incorrectly separates two independent clauses. Choice A is incorrect because it still contains a comma splice. Choice B is incorrect because it uses a semicolon to separate two independent clauses. Choice C is incorrect because it uses a comma to separate a nonessential dependent clause from the rest of the sentence. Choice D is the only choice that correctly punctuates the two independent clauses, using a period after "earth."