Which of the following sentences is punctuated correctly?
A. My brother the valedictorian of his high school got into a very competitive college.
B. The chili, which had been simmering on the stove for hours, made the whole house smell delicious.
C. My cat who is almost fifteen years old is getting a bit of gray fur around his nose.
D. That toy helicopter which broke after only a few days was actually quite expensive.
I think it is B.
Agree
You are correct! The sentence B, "The chili, which had been simmering on the stove for hours, made the whole house smell delicious," is punctuated correctly.
To determine if a sentence is punctuated correctly, you need to understand the rules of punctuation. In this case, the sentence B correctly uses commas to set off the nonessential clause "which had been simmering on the stove for hours." This clause provides additional information about the chili but can be removed without changing the main meaning of the sentence. By using commas before and after the clause, the sentence is punctuated correctly.
Let's briefly review the punctuation rules for nonessential clauses:
1. Use commas before and after a nonessential clause if it comes in the middle of a sentence.
2. Do not use commas if the clause is essential or restrictive to the meaning of the sentence.
In this case, the nonessential clause "which had been simmering on the stove for hours" is correctly offset with commas, making option B the correct choice.