IXL | What does the punctuation suggest?

What does the following sentence suggest?

From 1901 until 1913, the environmental pioneer John Muir fought to keep the Hetch Hetchy Valley in California from being transformed into a reservoir; it was a battle he eventually lost.

John Muir was one of several environmental pioneers.

John Muir was the only environmental pioneer.

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question

What does the following sentence suggest?

Cora is a college admissions counselor at the local high school, where Marco expects to enroll in a few years.

There is only one local high school.

There is more than one local high school.

key idea

A restrictive element in a sentence is necessary in order for a reader to identify exactly who or what is being discussed. Restrictive information is not set off with commas.

The teacher who is retiring is being honored with an award on Friday.

The underlined restrictive clause helps a reader identify which teacher is being honored.

The teacher is being honored with an award on Friday.

Without the restrictive clause, a reader doesn't know which teacher is being honored.

A nonrestrictive element provides information that is supplemental; it is not necessary in order for a reader to identify who or what is being discussed. Nonrestrictive information is always set off with commas.

The Golden Gate Bridge, which first opened in 1937, took over four years to build.

The underlined information isn't required to interpret the sentence.

The Golden Gate Bridge took over four years to build.

Without the information, a reader still knows which bridge took four years to build.

As you write, be sure to use commas correctly to indicate whether information is restrictive or nonrestrictive.

Restrictive:

Ethan's sister Julie has recently started working for a new company in Toronto.

If Ethan has more than one sister, do not use commas around Julie. The name Julie is required in order for a reader to identify which of Ethan's sisters is being discussed.

Nonrestrictive:

Ethan's sister, Julie, has recently started working for a new company in Toronto.

If Ethan has only one sister, use commas around Julie. The name Julie is not needed in order for a reader to identify who is being discussed.

solution

Look at the sentence.

Cora is a college admissions counselor at the local high school, where Marco expects to enroll in a few years.

Where Marco expects to enroll in a few years is set off by a comma. It is nonrestrictive; it could be removed from the sentence and the identity of the local high school would still be clear. So, the sentence suggests that there is only one local high school.

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