Horsepower is a unit of measurement used to determine how much power a vehicle produces. The measurement is based on...

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

• Horsepower is a unit of measurement
• used to determine how much power a vehicle produces.
• The measurement is based on how much and how quickly weight can be moved (?)
• one unit of mechanical horsepower is equivalent to the amount of power
  • it takes to lift 550 pounds
    • one foot off the ground
    • in one second.

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence is straightforward:

• Horsepower is a unit of measurement
• that's used to determine how much power a vehicle produces.

Now the second sentence starts explaining the measurement:

• 'The measurement is based on how much and how quickly weight can be moved'

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at the choices:

• Choice A: moved, for example,
• Choice B: moved,
• Choice C: moved; for example,
• Choice D: moved

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

The sentence continues:

• 'one unit of mechanical horsepower is equivalent to the amount of power it takes to lift 550 pounds one foot off the ground in one second.'

Now let's understand what this complete structure is telling us:

• First part: 'The measurement is based on how much and how quickly weight can be moved'
  • This gives us a general explanation
  • It's a complete thought - has a subject (the measurement), a verb (is based), and finishes the idea
• Second part: 'one unit of mechanical horsepower is equivalent to the amount of power it takes to lift 550 pounds one foot off the ground in one second'
  • This gives us a specific example of that general explanation
  • This is also a complete thought - has a subject (one unit), a verb (is equivalent), and finishes the idea
  • It's illustrating the general principle with a concrete example

What do we notice about the structure here?

• We have TWO COMPLETE THOUGHTS
  • Each part could stand alone as its own sentence
  • The second thought is providing a specific example of the first
• When we have two complete thoughts like this:
  • A comma alone isn't strong enough to connect them
  • We need a semicolon
  • The phrase "for example" helps signal that the second part is an example of the first

So we need Choice C: moved; for example,

The semicolon provides the strong separation needed between two complete thoughts, and "for example" (followed by a comma) signals the relationship between them.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Connecting Two Complete Thoughts with a Transitional Phrase

When you want to connect two complete thoughts (each could stand alone as a sentence) using a transitional phrase like "for example," "however," "therefore," or "in fact," you need:

Pattern: Complete thought; transitional phrase, complete thought

• First complete thought: The store sells many products
• Semicolon + transitional phrase + comma: ; for example,
• Second complete thought: it carries over fifty types of bread
• Result: The store sells many products; for example, it carries over fifty types of bread

Why this structure works:

• The semicolon provides the strong punctuation needed to separate two complete thoughts
• The transitional phrase (called a conjunctive adverb in grammar terms) shows the relationship between the thoughts
• The comma after the transitional phrase is standard punctuation

In our question:

• First complete thought: "The measurement is based on how much and how quickly weight can be moved"
• Semicolon + transitional phrase + comma: "; for example,"
• Second complete thought: "one unit of mechanical horsepower is equivalent to the amount of power it takes to lift 550 pounds one foot off the ground in one second"

The semicolon is essential because a comma alone would create a comma splice error.