Identify which one of the following sentences contains an unnecessary comma. Please correct the error and explain why the correction is necessary.
a. I must have been completely absorbed in my work, because I totally forgot about the meeting.
b. Because I became completely absorbed in my work, I totally forgot about the meeting
I'll be glad to check your answer.
would the correct answer be (B)Because I became completely absorbed in my work, I totally forgot about the meeting
Right.
The sentence with an unnecessary comma is option b: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work, I totally forgot about the meeting."
To correct the error, remove the comma so that the sentence reads: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work I totally forgot about the meeting."
The correction is necessary because the comma creates a comma splice, which is when two independent clauses are incorrectly joined by a comma without any coordinating conjunction (e.g., and, but, or). In this sentence, "Because I became completely absorbed in my work" and "I totally forgot about the meeting" are both independent clauses. To fix the error, we need to choose one of the following options:
1. Replace the comma with a coordinating conjunction: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work, I totally forgot about the meeting."
2. Remove the comma and place a period between the two independent clauses to form two separate sentences: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work. I totally forgot about the meeting."
3. Remove the comma and use a semicolon to connect the two related independent clauses: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work; I totally forgot about the meeting."
In this case, the correct choice is to remove the unnecessary comma and use option 2: "Because I became completely absorbed in my work. I totally forgot about the meeting."