PSAT Writing and Language Question 271: Answer and Explanation

Question: 271

• A. NO CHANGE
• B. candles—and
• C. candles. And
• D. candles and

Correct Answer: D

Explanation:

Difficulty: Hard

Getting to the Answer: This sentence is complicated, so break it down into its component parts so you can determine which punctuation is correct. The subject of the sentence is "He" and the verb is "would... accept." The phrases after "layers" are prepositional phrases that describe the layers. The underline appears in one of these prepositional phrases: "from candles, and incense burned during religious functions." Punctuation should not separate a preposition from its object, even when the preposition ("from") has a compound object ("candles and incense"). Therefore, eliminate any choices that separate the preposition from the objects. (D) is the only one that doesn't separate them, so it is correct.