The Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, features intricate geometric tile work that has captivated visitors for centuries. Constructed with _____...

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

• The Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain,
  • features intricate geometric tile work
    • that has captivated visitors for centuries.
• Constructed with techniques developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century [?]
  • the palace walls
    • display patterns
      • that reflect both Islamic artistic traditions
        • and mathematical principles of the medieval period.

Understanding the Meaning

The first sentence gives us background:

• The Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain has beautiful geometric tile work that has fascinated people for centuries.

Now the second sentence tells us more about how these tiles were made. This is where we have the blank:

• 'Constructed with techniques developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century [?] the palace walls display patterns...'

Let's look at the choices:

• They're asking us where to put commas (or whether to use them at all) around and within the phrase about the techniques.

To see what works here, let's read the full sentence and understand its structure!

The sentence continues:

• 'the palace walls display patterns that reflect both Islamic artistic traditions and mathematical principles of the medieval period.'

Now let's understand what the complete sentence is telling us:

• 'Constructed with techniques developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century'
  • This opening phrase is giving us background information about HOW the palace walls were constructed
  • It describes the techniques used - they were developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century
• 'the palace walls display patterns'
  • This is the main statement - what the sentence is fundamentally saying
  • The walls DISPLAY patterns (that's the core action)
• 'that reflect both Islamic artistic traditions and mathematical principles'
  • This adds detail about what makes these patterns special

What do we notice about the structure here?

• The sentence starts with a long introductory phrase describing HOW something was constructed
  • Then it moves to the main statement: what the palace walls display
• When we have a longer opening phrase like this that comes before the main statement, we need a comma to separate them
  • This helps readers see where the introductory information ends and where the main point begins
• Within the phrase "techniques developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century":
  • "developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century" tells us WHICH techniques
  • This is essential information - we need to know who developed them and when
  • Since it's necessary to identify the specific techniques, we don't put commas around it

So we need: a comma after "century" to separate the introductory phrase from the main statement, but NO commas within the phrase itself.

The correct answer is Choice B.

Grammar Concept Applied

Using Commas with Introductory Phrases and Essential Information

This question tests two related comma rules:

Rule 1: Commas After Introductory Elements

When a longer phrase comes at the beginning of a sentence before the main statement, use a comma to separate the introductory element from what follows:

• Introductory phrase: After reviewing hundreds of applications
• Main statement: the committee selected five finalists
• Complete sentence: After reviewing hundreds of applications, the committee selected five finalists

In our question:

• Introductory phrase: Constructed with techniques developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century
• Main statement: the palace walls display patterns...
• Comma needed: after "century" to separate these two parts

Rule 2: Essential vs. Non-Essential Information

When deciding whether to use commas around a modifying phrase, ask: "Is this information necessary to identify what I'm talking about?"

• Essential information (necessary to specify which one) → NO commas
  • Example: "Students who study regularly tend to succeed"
  • "who study regularly" is essential - it specifies WHICH students
• Non-essential information (extra details that could be removed) → USE commas (called non-restrictive modifiers in grammar terms)
  • Example: "My sister, who lives in Boston, is visiting next week"
  • "who lives in Boston" is extra info - you already know which sister

In our question:

• "developed by Nasrid artisans in the 14th century" is essential
• It specifies WHICH techniques were used
• Without it, "techniques" is too vague
• Therefore: NO commas around this phrase