Many Samoans enjoy a sport called kilikiti. This bat-and-ball game was derived from ________ kilikiti differs from cricket in a...

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

• Many Samoans enjoy a sport called kilikiti.
• This bat-and-ball game was derived from cricket but [?] kilikiti differs from cricket in a few key ways.

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence tells us:

• Many Samoans enjoy a sport called kilikiti.
  • Simple introduction to the topic.

Now the second sentence:

• 'This bat-and-ball game was derived from cricket'
  • We learn that kilikiti came from cricket - it has cricket origins.

This is where we have the blank: 'cricket but [?] kilikiti differs...'

Let's look at the choices:

• A: cricket but:
• B: cricket but,
• C: cricket, but
• D: cricket, but,

So we're deciding where to put punctuation around "but."

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

The sentence continues:

• 'kilikiti differs from cricket in a few key ways.'
  • This tells us that despite coming from cricket, kilikiti is different.
  • This creates a contrast with the previous part.

So the complete picture is:

• The sentence is saying: kilikiti came FROM cricket, BUT it's different from cricket.
  • It's showing both connection and contrast.

What do we notice about the structure here?

• 'This bat-and-ball game was derived from cricket'
  • This is a complete thought - it could stand alone as a sentence.
  • It has a subject ("This bat-and-ball game") and tells us a complete idea.
• 'kilikiti differs from cricket in a few key ways'
  • This is also a complete thought - it could stand alone too.
  • It has a subject ("kilikiti") and tells us a complete idea.
• These two complete thoughts are being connected with 'but'
  • "But" is a connecting word that shows contrast between ideas.

When we connect two complete thoughts with a connecting word like "but," we need a comma BEFORE the connecting word.

The correct answer is C: "cricket, but"

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Connecting Two Complete Thoughts with a Comma + Connecting Word

When you want to join two complete thoughts (called independent clauses in grammar terms) using a connecting word like "but," "and," "or," "so," "for," "nor," or "yet" (called coordinating conjunctions in grammar terms), you place a comma BEFORE the connecting word.

The pattern:

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

Examples:

Example 1:

• Complete thought #1: "The movie was three hours long"
• Complete thought #2: "it kept my attention the entire time"
• Connected correctly: "The movie was three hours long, but it kept my attention the entire time."
  • Note: comma BEFORE "but"

Example 2:

• Complete thought #1: "She studied all weekend"
• Complete thought #2: "she felt confident about the exam"
• Connected correctly: "She studied all weekend, so she felt confident about the exam."
  • Note: comma BEFORE "so"

In our question:

• Complete thought #1: "This bat-and-ball game was derived from cricket"
• Complete thought #2: "kilikiti differs from cricket in a few key ways"
• Connected correctly: "This bat-and-ball game was derived from cricket, but kilikiti differs from cricket in a few key ways."
  • The comma comes BEFORE "but" to properly connect these two complete thoughts

Why it matters: The comma signals that while these ideas are related and connected, each one is a complete statement on its own. The connecting word tells us how the ideas relate to each other - in this case, "but" shows contrast.