At eight paragraphs long, the preamble to the constitution of ______ country in Western Asia—is much longer than the one-paragraph...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• At eight paragraphs long,
  • the preamble to the constitution of Bahrain [?] a country in Western Asia—
    • is much longer than the one-paragraph preamble to the United States Constitution.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

'At eight paragraphs long'

• This is describing something by its length - eight paragraphs.

'the preamble to the constitution of Bahrain'

• So we're talking about the preamble (the introduction) to Bahrain's constitution.

This is where we have the blank: 'Bahrain [?] a country in Western Asia—'

Let's look at the choices:

• They all include 'a country in Western Asia'
• What varies is the punctuation after 'Bahrain'
• Notice there's already a dash (—) shown after 'Western Asia' in the original sentence

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence continues: 'is much longer than the one-paragraph preamble to the United States Constitution.'

Now let's understand the complete structure:

• The main sentence is:
  • 'the preamble to the constitution of Bahrain is much longer than the one-paragraph preamble to the United States Constitution'

• But there's extra information inserted in the middle:
  • 'a country in Western Asia'
  • This tells us what Bahrain is - it's giving us geographical context
  • This information interrupts the flow between 'Bahrain' and 'is'

What do we notice about the structure here?

• 'a country in Western Asia' is interrupting information -
  • it's extra details inserted into the middle of the main sentence
  • the main sentence would work without it: 'the preamble to the constitution of Bahrain is much longer...'

• The END of this interruption already has a dash (—)
  • This dash appears after 'Western Asia' and before 'is'

• When you have interrupting information in the middle of a sentence, you need matching punctuation on both sides:
  • Two commas, OR
  • Two dashes, OR
  • Two parentheses

• Since the END already has a dash, the BEGINNING must also use a dash

So we need: Bahrain—a country in Western Asia—is much longer...

The correct answer is Choice A.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Matching Punctuation for Interrupting Information

When you insert extra information into the middle of a sentence - information that interrupts the main flow but adds helpful context - you must use matching punctuation on both sides of that interruption. Think of it like bookends: they need to match.

Your three options for these 'bookends' are:

Option 1: Two commas

• Main sentence: The museum opens at 9 AM
• With interruption: The museum, which features local art, opens at 9 AM
  • Notice: comma before 'which,' comma after 'art'

Option 2: Two dashes

• Main sentence: The recipe takes three hours
• With interruption: The recipe—one of my grandmother's favorites—takes three hours
  • Notice: dash before 'one,' dash after 'favorites'

Option 3: Two parentheses

• Main sentence: The flight leaves from gate B12
• With interruption: The flight (scheduled for 6 PM) leaves from gate B12
  • Notice: parenthesis before 'scheduled,' parenthesis after 'PM'

In this question:

• The interrupting information is 'a country in Western Asia'
• The END already has a dash: Western Asia—is
• Therefore, the BEGINNING must also use a dash: Bahrain—a
• Result: Bahrain—a country in Western Asia—is much longer...

Key Rule: Never mix these punctuation types (don't use a comma on one side and a dash on the other). The punctuation marks must match, like matching bookends on a shelf.