What correction, if any, should be made to sentence 13?

Question

A. 

Although he admired American individualism; he feared that a society of individuals could be a lonely place to live.

 B. 

Make no change.

 C. 

Although he admired American individualism: he feared that a society of individuals could be a lonely place to live.

 D. 

Although he admired American individualism he feared that a society of individuals could be a lonely place to live.

Answer 1

Hi Brianna,

The sentence doesn't need a change (option B). It is a complete sentence as it is. The comma after "individualism" introduces both 1) the subject's admiration for American individualism and 2) the foundation for a contradicting ("although" implies contradiction, much like "but" or "however") but connected thought, which follows the comma.

In Option A, the comma is replaced by a semicolon. A semicolon's proper use is to connect two equal sentences or phrases (or a series, but that's not applicable in this example so let's stick a pin in that here). In that case the connecting word (conjunctive adverb) "although" would have to go after the semicolon and the sentence rewritten to accommodate that structure. So option A is incorrect.

In Option C, the comma is replaced by a colon. Colons have several uses, including expressing time or titles, but those don't apply here so we won't discuss them further. The applicable use for a colon here is to connect two independent clauses which could be separated by a period (i.e. into two separate but complete sentences) instead of a colon. The colon is preferable to the period when you want to join two ideas, draw attention to something, or present an answer or explanation to a problem posed before the colon. The two sentences must be closely related, but each work as separate sentences on their own. This is not the case here, because "Although he admired American individualism" is not a complete sentence. So option C is wrong.

In Option D, the comma is removed entirely. The function of a comma is to connect two dependent phrases and to symbolize a break or a breath that the reader should take: It's a clue that something new is about to be introduced. By removing it, you risk the reader losing the meaning of the sentence.

You also use a comma after an introductory phrase, which in this sentence is "Although he admired American individualism". So keep the comma.

Option B is correct.