Question

what is the best way to revise the following sentence in terms of comma usage? it was a cold rainy day but i had fun hiking with my childhood friends on a mountain near my hometown. a. it was a cold rainy day but i had fun hiking with my childhood friends, on a mountain near my hometown. b. it was a cold, rainy day, but i had fun hiking with my childhood friends on a mountain near my hometown. c. it was a cold rainy day but, i had fun hiking with my childhood friends on a mountain, near my hometown. d. this sentence is correct as it is.

Explanation:

To determine the correct comma usage:

1. "cold" and "rainy" are adjectives describing "day", so they should be separated by a comma (compound adjective).
2. "It was a cold, rainy day" is an independent clause, and "but I had fun..." is another independent clause. When joining two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction ("but"), a comma should precede the conjunction.

• Option a: The comma after "friends" is incorrect as "on a mountain..." is part of the prepositional phrase modifying "hiking".
• Option b: Correctly uses commas to separate the adjectives "cold" and "rainy" and to separate the two independent clauses with "but".
• Option c: The comma after "but" is incorrect (should be before "but" when joining independent clauses), and the comma after "mountain" is unnecessary.
• Option d: The original sentence lacks necessary commas for the compound adjective and between independent clauses.

Answer:

b. It was a cold, rainy day, but I had fun hiking with my childhood friends on a mountain near my hometown.