In 1727, dramatist Lewis Theobald presented a new play, Double Falsehood, at a London theater. Theobald claimed that his drama...

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

• In 1727,
  • dramatist Lewis Theobald
    • presented a new play, Double Falsehood, at a London theater.

• Theobald claimed
  • that his drama was based on a little-known play by William Shakespeare, Cardenio.

• Many,
  • including poet Alexander Pope,
    • were skeptical [?]
      • historians have determined
        • that Shakespeare's company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613.

Understanding the Meaning

The passage sets up a historical scenario:

• In 1727, Lewis Theobald presented a play called Double Falsehood
  • He claimed it was based on a lost Shakespeare play called Cardenio

• Many people, including the poet Alexander Pope, were skeptical of this claim

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

• Choice A: "skeptical but" (no comma before "but")
• Choice B: "skeptical, but" (comma before "but")
• Choice C: "skeptical," (comma, no "but")
• Choice D: "skeptical" (no punctuation)

Some choices include "but" and some don't. Some have commas and some don't. To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

The sentence continues:

• "historians have determined that Shakespeare's company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613"
  • This tells us that historical evidence actually SUPPORTS Theobald's claim
  • Shakespeare's company really did perform a play called Cardenio

So the complete picture creates a contrast:

• Many were skeptical of Theobald's claim
• BUT historical evidence shows the play Cardenio actually existed

What do we notice about the structure here?

• "Many, including poet Alexander Pope, were skeptical"
  • This is a complete thought that could stand alone as a sentence
  • Subject: "Many" / Verb: "were"

• "historians have determined that Shakespeare's company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613"
  • This is also a complete thought that could stand alone
  • Subject: "historians" / Verb: "have determined"

• These are TWO complete thoughts with CONTRASTING meanings:
  • The first expresses doubt
  • The second provides supporting evidence
  • This contrast needs to be shown with "but"

• When you connect two complete thoughts with a connecting word like "but," you need a comma before that connecting word

So we need: skeptical, but (comma before "but")

The correct answer is Choice B.

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Joining Two Complete Thoughts with Connecting Words

When you want to connect two complete thoughts (that could each stand alone as sentences) using a connecting word like "but," "and," "or," "so," "yet," "for," or "nor" (called coordinating conjunctions in grammar terms), you need to place a comma before that connecting word.

The pattern:

• [Complete thought], [connecting word] [complete thought]

Examples:

• Two separate sentences:
  • "The experiment failed."
  • "The researchers learned valuable information."

• Joined with comma + "but":
  • "The experiment failed, but the researchers learned valuable information."
  • Complete thought 1: "The experiment failed"
  • Connecting word showing contrast: "but"
  • Complete thought 2: "the researchers learned valuable information"
  • Comma before "but": required ✓

In this question:

• Complete thought 1: "Many, including poet Alexander Pope, were skeptical"
• Connecting word: "but" (showing contrast between skepticism and evidence)
• Complete thought 2: "historians have determined that Shakespeare's company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613"
• Result: "skeptical, but" with the comma before "but"

Important: Each side must be a complete thought that could stand alone. If one side is not a complete thought, you typically don't need the comma before the connecting word.