PSAT Writing : Identifying Punctuation Errors: Commas for Dependent Clauses

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for PSAT Writing

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Example Questions

Example Question #3651 : Sat Writing

Select the underlined word or phrase that needs to be changed to make the sentence correct. Some sentences contain no error at all.

Although he initially refused to go to the cinema, James finally saw the movie, that his friends had recommendedNo error

Possible Answers:

No error

movie, that

had recommended

Although he

refused to go to the cinema

Correct answer:

movie, that

Explanation:

Commas, gramatically speaking, should never be used before or after the word "that." The correct sentence would have: "James finally saw the movie that his friends . . ."

"Had recommended" could be changed to "recommended", for the sake of simplicity, but the comma error is more flagrant.

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