You’re given this sentence: “Each year, many species of shorebirds migrate from locations in the Southern Hemisphere to their breeding grounds in the Arctic. A journey of thousands of kilometers that requires frequent stops to fuel up.”
A) NO CHANGE
B) Arctic, a
C) Arctic; a
D) Arctic; which is a
According to CB, the correct answer would be B) because you’re connecting an independent clause with an “appositive.” However, wouldn’t choosing letter B) also result in a modifier error with “the Arctic?” Therefore, wouldn’t the appropriate answer be C)? Out of all the other released practice tests, I’ve never once seen an “appositive” being tested in this manner.
^ BTW, I’m completely aware that “a journey of thousands of kilometers that requires frequent stops to fuel up” is dependent on the independent on the clause preceding it. Grammatically speaking, here’s my point: wouldn’t attaching the clause to the predicting independent clause result in a modifier error between “Arctic” and the clause following it?
Semicolon is used to separate two independent clauses. In this case, because the second sentence is not an independent clause, “C” and “D” are eliminated. Because the second sentence is a dependent clause, “A” is eliminated.
@pawrrr - “Arctic” is non-essential, so there is no modifier error. The essential part of the independent clause is: “shorebirds migrate.” Therefore, “a journey” refers to the migration, not the Arctic.