Question

How should this sentence be punctuated? "Lonesome George, a famous Galapagos tortoise, died in 2012, and the taxidermy specialists worked for two years to make the giant tortoise appear as he did in life."

Answer 1

The sentence should be punctuated with commas to separate appositive phrases and nonessential clauses. The serial comma is also used before the word "and" to show a clear separation of actions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The sentence should be punctuated as follows: "Lonesome George, a famous Galapagos tortoise, died in 2012, and the taxidermy specialists worked for two years to make the giant tortoise appear as he did in life." The comma is used to separate the appositive phrase that provides additional information about Lonesome George. The commas before and after the year 2012 indicate that it is a nonessential clause. The sentence also uses the serial comma before the word "and" to clarify that the two actions are distinct.