Which sentence does not contain any punctuation errors?
A. The smoothie recipe includes the following, frozen berries, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
B. The smoothie recipe includes: frozen berries, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
C. The smoothie recipe includes the following: frozen berries, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
D. The smoothie recipe includes the following; frozen berries, yogurt, and vanilla extract.
Answer (2)
The correct answer is C. There should be a colon (:) after "following" because it introduces a list.
A is incorrect because a comma is after "following." Commas separate individual items in a list, so "following" should not be a part of those items.
B is incorrect because the colon is unnecessary. It breaks up an otherwise correct sentence.
D is incorrect because a semicolon (;) is supposed to break up two independent clauses. This means that the two phrases broken by a semicolon should be able to function as complete sentences on their own. However, "frozen berries, yogurt, and vanilla extract" alone is not a complete sentence, rendering the semicolon incorrect.
The correct answer is option C. It properly uses a colon to introduce a list. The other options contain punctuation errors related to the misuse of commas, colons, or semicolons.
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