PSAT Writing and Language Question 267: Answer and Explanation

Question: 267

• A. NO CHANGE
• B. penicillin,
• C. penicillin, and though
• D. penicillin, though

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Difficulty: Medium

Getting to the Answer: The part of the sentence before the underline is an independent clause; it expresses a complete thought with subject "Some people" and verb "are." The part after the underline, however, is a dependent clause because it does not express a complete thought: "Though the number. . ." The word "though" subordinates the second clause. You need to find a way to join the independent clause to the subordinate (dependent) clause that follows it. (D) is correct because a comma is the appropriate way to join an independent clause and a dependent, subordinate clause. (A) and (C) are incorrect because they punctuate the sentence as though the second part were an independent clause. (B) is incorrect because it creates a run-on.