SAT OwlMost comets with extremely long orbits are thought to come from the Oort Cloud, a distant shell of icy bodies surrounding the solar ______ short-period comets, which orbit the Sun in fewer than 200 years, are thought to come mainly from the Kuiper Belt.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
system, however,
system; however,
system however;
system, however;
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The sentence has two independent clauses that contrast long-period and short-period comets. "However" belongs at the start of the second clause, so a semicolon must come before it and a comma after it. Choice A creates a comma splice, and choices C and D attach "however" to the first clause, where it makes no sense.
Choice A creates a comma splice, because "however" is not a conjunction and cannot join two independent clauses with commas alone.
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