SAT OwlIn 1932, Amelia Earhart flew alone across the Atlantic ______ the first woman to accomplish the feat. Her flight from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland took just under fifteen hours.
Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?
Ocean;
Ocean. Becoming
Ocean
Ocean, becoming
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
"Becoming the first woman to accomplish the feat" is a participial phrase that describes the result of Earhart's flight. A comma correctly attaches this phrase to the end of the main clause. A semicolon or period would separate the phrase as a fragment, and no punctuation would run the ideas together.
Choice B makes "Becoming the first woman to accomplish the feat" a separate sentence, but it has no subject or main verb and is a fragment.
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