Question

Which sentence with an introductory phrase is punctuated correctly? a. Despite the economy, the restaurant had record profits. b. Despite the economy, the restaurant, had record profits. c. Despite the economy; the restaurant had, record profits. d. Despite, the economy the restaurant had record profits.

Answer 1

The sentence that is punctuated correctly is:

a. Despite the economy, the restaurant had record profits.

Step-by-step explanation:

The introductory phrase is "despite the economy." This type of phrase is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma. For that reason, we can eliminate letters C and D. Letter C uses a semicolon unnecessarily. Letter D is separating elements of the introductory phrase itself, which makes no grammatical sense. Both letter A and letter B use a comma after the introductory phrase. However, letter B should also be eliminated because it adds another comma right after the subject, separating it from the predicate for no reason. There is no appositive element to justify this separation. Therefore, the correct option is letter A. Despite the economy, the restaurant had record profits.