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When George and Simon specified a pause of one unit for a comma, of two units for a semicolon, and of three for a colon, they were no doubt trying to bring some sort of order into a basically confused and _______ situations.
satisfied
specified
satisfactory
unsatisfactory
The punctuation of Elizabethan drama was useful, but it _____an important element that had been the making of 12th-century punctuation.
intended
had
lacked
required
It was Ben Jonson, in his English Grammar, a work ______ about 1617 and published in 1640, who first introduced the use of punctuation in England.
composed
dismissed
mistook
abandoned
______ pieces on punctuation were published by Robert Monteith in 1704 and Joseph Robertson in 1795. They had a huge impact on the way people write.
Misleading
Influential
Ambiguous
Hysterical
_____punctuation was common in the 18th century: at its worst it used commas with every subordinate clause and separable phrase
Admirable
Excessive
Miserable
Priceless
Punctuation in the United States has followed much the same path as in Britain, but the rules laid down by American authorities have in general been more ____than the British rules. In other words, they were fixed.
beneficial
rigid
flexible
significant
Three of its most important ____ are the space left blank between words; the indentation of the first line of a new paragraph; and the uppercase, or capital, letter written at the beginning of a sentence.
components
declarations
separations
announcements
The end of a grammatically complete sentence is marked by a full point, full stop, or period. The period may also be used to mark ___, such as the “U.S.”
verses
proses
phrases
abbreviations
The colon (:), which was once used like a full point and was followed by an uppercase letter, now serves mainly to _____ the beginning of a list, summary, or quotation.
magnify
elaborate
regulate
indicate
The semicolon (;) ranks halfway between a comma and a full point. It may be _____ for a period between two grammatically complete sentences that are closely connected.
substituted
indicated
finalized
encountered
A comma (,) is used to separate the elements of a series to set off or isolate words or phrases, or in _____ with coordinating conjunctions such as “The creature is hideous, but it is intelligent”.
ability
combination
alternative
component
Other punctuation marks used in modern English include parentheses, which_____to isolate a word or phrase.
specify
associate
serve
strengthen
But the rules laid down by American _____have in general been more fixed than the British rules. In other words, they were fixed.
astronomers
philosophers
authorities
consumers
Commas can be used with_____ phrases to divide them in a reasonable manner.
combined
apparent
adequate
separable
As the punctuation during that time lacked significant elements, it was not _____ to convey some important aspects of the drama.
unimpressive
misplaced
distressed
adequate
