The following sentence is incorrect:
Some of my colleagues are only available via cellphone; Simon, Brian, and Alan.

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks us to determine whether the given sentence is incorrect, and you have two answer choices: True or False.
Option 1: True. This statement asserts that the sentence is incorrect. The sentence reads: 'Some of my colleagues are only available via cellphone; Simon, Brian, and Alan.' The issue here is punctuation and sentence structure. A semicolon is typically used to link two independent clauses, or to separate items in a complex list; however, after the semicolon we just have a noun phrase listing names ('Simon, Brian, and Alan'), which is not a complete clause. That fragment after the semicolon makes the sentence grammatically inappropriate. The more natural fix would be to replace the semicolon with a colon to introduce the list, giving: 'Some of my colleagues are only available via cellphone: Simon, Brian, and Alan.' Alternatively, one could rewrite to a full independent clause: 'Some of my colleagues are only available via cellphone, and that includes Simon, Brian, and Alan.' Therefore, stating that the sentence is incorrect is correct, since the current punctuation creates a fragment after the semicolon or improper linkage.
Option 2: False. This statement would claim that the sentence is not incorrect (i.e., it is grammatically fine as written). Since the actual structure misuses the semicolon before a list fragment, this option would be pointing to an incorrect assessment. It would overlook the problem of a trailing list fragment after a semicolon and fail to recognize the need for colon usage to introduce the list or for restructuring to form a complete independent clause. It also risks misinterpreting how lists and clauses should be punctuated in standard English.
In summary, option-by-option reasoning shows that the claim of correctness (False) conflicts with standard punctuation rules for linking a clause to a list, while the claim of incorrectness (True) aligns with the proper grammatical adjustment (colon or rephrasing) needed for clarity and correctness.

The following sentence is incorrect: Some of my colleagues are only available via cellphone; Simon, Brian, and Alan.

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

The writing selected-response questions may ask about punctuation.

Question at position 6 Which of the following sentences uses punctuation correctly?Its a sunny day, lets go for a walk.The students, books were left in the library.She bought apples oranges bananas and grapes. It’s important to check your work for commas, apostrophes, and other punctuation.

位置39的问题 Although having a computer at college used to be considered a luxury. Today's college students need computers to get the most out of college life. Although, havingluxury; today'sluxury, today'sNo change is necessary.

Singapore is a multiracial __________ pledge ourselves as "one united people regardless of race, language or religion."

The Mindfulness Program was conducted in the headquarters over 8 weeks with two broad kinds of activities _ traditional breathing techniques and the application of mindfulness at the workplace __outcome of this program led to an improvement in the well-being of our employees.

This sentence is correct: The author described the problem with publishing for example not having access to a good editor.

The following sentence is correct: The news article portrays the land use proposal as reckless; but 62 percent of the town’s residents support it.

Which of the following is correctly punctuated?

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Homework AI Solver

Stylized AI Paper Writer

Plagiarism Checker Assistant

Citation AI Academic Writing Tool

In-Class Translation Assistant

AI Note Generator

AI Quiz Answers

Past Exam Questions from University Test Bank

Smart Practice Assistant

Adaptive Practice

Making Your Study Simpler