Identify which sentence is correct.

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question focus: Identify which sentence is correctly punctuated. The four options present slightly different placements of commas around a nonrestrictive relative clause introduced by which.
Option 1: 'The rain which I thought would never stop, finally ended, around midnight.' This option uses a restrictive feel with 'which' lacking the opening comma after 'rain' and places an extra comma before 'around midnight.' In standard English, nonrestrictive clauses (which, preceded by a comma) are separate from the main clause; removing the comma after 'stop' changes emphasis and adds an unnecessary pause before 'around midnight.' The comma after 'ended' is also inappropriate, since 'around midnight' functions as a time adverbial phrase directly linked to the verb, not as a separate parenthetical.
Option 2: 'The rain which I thought would never stop, finally ended around midnight.' Here, the clause 'which I thought would never stop' is again introduced without a comma after 'rain,' giving a restrictive feel to the clause that should be nonrestrictive for the extra information about the speaker’s thought. There is also no comma before 'around midnight,' which makes the time phrase tightly bound to 'ended' but ignores the intended parenthetical pause around the relative clause.
Option 3: 'The rain, which I thought would never stop, finally ended around midnight.' This version correctly sets off the nonrestrictive relative clause 'which I thought would never stop' with commas both before and after the clause, signaling that this information is additional and not essential to identify 'the rain.' The placement of 'finally ended around midnight' after the parenthetical clause reads smoothly, with 'around midnight' functioning as a time adverbial at the end of the main clause.
Option 4: 'The rain which I thought would never stop finally ended around midnight.' This option lacks the comma after 'rain,' and there is no pause before the subject of the main clause ends. Without the comma, the relative clause feels restrictive, and the sentence runs together, reducing clarity and interrupting the intended aside about the speaker’s belief. The absence of punctuation around the clause makes the sentence harder to parse and is not consistent with standard punctuation for a nonrestrictive which clause.
In summary, the key distinction is how the relative clause 'which I thought would never stop' is treated: as extra information (nonrestrictive) versus essential identification (restrictive). The correctly punctuated option uses commas to set off that nonrestrictive clause and positions the time expression 'around midnight' in a natural, well-formed structure.

Identify which sentence is correct.

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