ShmoopTube

00:03

Here's an unshmoopy question you'll find on the exam...

00:07

What should replace the underlined portion of the below sentence, if anything?

00:12

The president wanted to cut the budget: his advisors didn't think it was a good idea.

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And here are the potential answers:

00:25

Okay, so this question wants to test our colon knowledge.

00:28

It's okay -- no medical expertise necessary. Is the sentence correct as is?

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Nope. The first and second half of the sentence are two separate thoughts.

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If the second part explained why the president wanted to cut the budget...

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...or elaborated on what exactly was cut, then it might be okay.

00:51

But since the sentence switches gears at the midway point, we can eliminate D

00:55

What about the semi-colon in choice A?

00:58

Yeah, looks about right. The semi-colon is perfect for splitting up sentences where both

01:02

halves would make sense on their own.

01:04

Just to check 'em out... B would be wrong because it's a run-on...

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...and C would be wrong because it uses an incorrect coordinating conjunction. In other

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words, "so" makes zero sense here. So our answer is A.

01:18

As in, "Anesthetic."

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