1. Which one of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?

A. I found a large, smooth, rock on the beach yesterday.
B. She kept my surprise a secret, but she had a hard time doing it.
C. Della arrived on time, it was just two o'clock.
D. Darleen chose Tara, Holly, and, Marlene as her lab partners.
I am going with B.

I agree.

Thank you!

You're welcome. =)

Good choice! Sentence B is the correct option. Now, let's break down the punctuation in each sentence to understand why the others are incorrect.

A. The sentence "I found a large, smooth, rock on the beach yesterday." is not punctuated correctly. The use of commas after both "large" and "smooth" is unnecessary. The correct punctuation would be: "I found a large smooth rock on the beach yesterday."

C. The sentence "Della arrived on time, it was just two o'clock." is not punctuated correctly. The comma between "time" and "it" is incorrect because it separates the subject "Della arrived on time" from the verb "was." Additionally, it lacks a coordinating conjunction or proper punctuation to join the two independent clauses. One possible correction could be: "Della arrived on time; it was just two o'clock."

D. The sentence "Darleen chose Tara, Holly, and, Marlene as her lab partners." is not punctuated correctly. There is an unnecessary comma after the word "and." The correct punctuation should be: "Darleen chose Tara, Holly, and Marlene as her lab partners."

Remember, proper punctuation is essential in conveying meaning and ensuring clarity in writing. So, well done in selecting the correctly punctuated sentence!