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 ______
historians have determined that Shakespeare’s company did perform a play called Cardenio in 1613.
skeptical but
skeptical, but
skeptical,
skeptical
Choice B is the best answer. There are two independent clauses in the sentence, each with a subject and a verb:
"many...were skeptical" and "historians have determined…." These clauses can be grammatically joined by a comma and the
coordinating conjunction "but."
Choice A is incorrect. This choice results in a run-on sentence, which occurs when two independent clauses are joined
without punctuation. Two independent clauses can’t be joined by just the coordinating conjunction "but." A comma would
also be required. Choice C is incorrect. This choice creates a punctuation error called a comma splice. This sentence
contains two independent clauses ("Many…were skeptical" and "historians have determined…"). A comma alone can’t join
two independent clauses. That requires a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Choice D is incorrect. This choice results
in a run-on sentence, which occurs when two independent clauses are joined without punctuation. This sentence contains
two independent clauses ("Many…were skeptical" and "historians have determined…"), which need to be either joined by a
semicolon, joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction, or separated by a period.