In 1972 votes were cast by 55% of the electorate;and 40% in

Concept Tested

• A semi-colon should always be followed by a independent clause. It should have a working verb
• Two independent clause cannot be joined by a simple comma. This is called a 'Run-on' sentence and not allowed
• 'And' is a coordinating conjunction. It used to connect two independent clauses. Both the clauses should have a working verb
• Meaning of the sentence should be clear and logical

A. Semi-colon not followed by an Independent clause
B. Clear and correct.
C. 'And' is not joining two independent clauses
D. Run on sentence
E. Illogical. tells that Electorate fell to 40%

Correct Answer = B

55% refers to the figure... so in B the comparison is done better,,,

ans B

I think in B second sentence is dependent clause. How can we connect independent and dependent clause using semicolon?

I think answer should be C.

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IMHO - In Option B - "In 1996 the figure was 40%" is an Independent clause. It can stand on its own. 'Figure' is the noun and 'was' is the working verb.

However in Option C - "in 1996 40%" is not an Independent clause. It has no noun and working verb.

Hi,
Can someone please help with this question? I am confused about the option C
In 1972 votes were cast by 55% of the electorate;and 40% in 1996.

a. electorate;and 40% in 1996 the figure was 40%
b. electorate;in 1996 the figure was 40%
c. electorate, and in 1996 40%
d.electorate, 40% in 1996 was the figure
e. electorate that fell to 40% in 1996
Why c is wrong? why can't we have ellipses in place and read it as " electorate, and in 1996 votes were cast by 40% of the electorate?

agar123 Two thoughts on this:

1) Ellipsis is very tricky, so don't assume it can always be used. If we have a longer working option such as B, there is absolutely no reason to choose C. The answer won't be right simply because it cuts out words, especially if those cuts reduce the clarity of the sentence.
2) Ellipsis is not a free pass to cut as much of the sentence as we'd like. The subject of the first clause is "votes," so it's odd to simply leave "40%" in the second part. This approach would work much better if we said, "In 1972, 55% of the electorate cast votes, and in 1996, 40%." At least here, it's clear which part of the clause we have elided--all but the subject. In C, we're asked to fill in both the subject and the modifier in the second part, and that asks a lot more of the reader, even if there's no other competing interpretation that makes much sense. Also, a small point: we would still need a comma between 1996 and 40%.

Got it. Thanks for your reply DmitryFarber.

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