Where should you place a comma or commas in the following sentence to separate the parenthetical element?
This was the first time we saw The Nutcracker which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky.
(1 point)
Responses
after the word which
after the word which
after was and before we
after was and before we
after Nutcracker
after Nutcracker
after time and before Nutcracker
The correct answer is "after the word Nutcracker."
The sentence should be written as: "This was the first time we saw The Nutcracker, which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky."
The comma is placed after "Nutcracker" to separate the parenthetical element (the additional information about The Nutcracker being a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky).
The correct placement for the comma to separate the parenthetical element in the given sentence is: after the word "which."
Correct sentence: This was the first time we saw The Nutcracker, which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky.
To determine where to place a comma to separate the parenthetical element in the sentence, we need to identify the parenthetical element first. In this case, the parenthetical element is "which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky."
When it comes to placing commas around parenthetical elements, we generally use a pair of commas to separate them from the rest of the sentence. In this sentence, the parenthetical element provides additional information about "The Nutcracker," and it could be removed without affecting the sentence's core meaning.
Now, let's analyze the options:
1. "after the word which": Placing a comma after "which" correctly separates the parenthetical element from the rest of the sentence. This option is correct.
2. "after was and before we": This option suggests separating the subject and verb of the main sentence ("we saw") using a comma. However, this is not needed because there's no parenthetical element within that portion of the sentence. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
3. "after Nutcracker": Placing a comma after "Nutcracker" would separate this noun phrase from the parenthetical element. However, this would incorrectly suggest that "which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky" modifies only "Nutcracker" and not the entire clause "This was the first time we saw The Nutcracker." Therefore, this option is incorrect.
4. "after time and before Nutcracker": This option suggests placing a comma after "time" and before "Nutcracker." However, this would create a comma splice and incorrectly separate the subject ("time") from the verb ("we saw"). Therefore, this option is incorrect.
To summarize, the correct placement of the comma or commas would be "after the word which" to separate the parenthetical element from the rest of the sentence:
"This was the first time we saw The Nutcracker, which is a famous ballet by Tchaikovsky."