Question

Which punctuation mark is missing in the following sentence? Part of Australia is known to the natives as The Outback.

• A. inverted commas
• B. semicolon
• C. comma
• D. hyphen

Hint:

The Outback is being used like a nickname for a place.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Read the sentence and ask why "The Outback" stands out. It is being used as a given name for a place, not as a normal descriptive phrase.

1. inverted commas: These mark a word or phrase used in a special, name-like sense, exactly the role "The Outback" plays here.
2. semicolon: A semicolon links two full clauses that could stand alone as sentences, but there is only one clause here.
3. comma: A comma separates parts of a list or clauses, but "The Outback" is a single term, not a list item.
4. hyphen: A hyphen joins compound words or numbers, not a full phrase acting as a nickname.

Only inverted commas correctly flag "The Outback" as a special term, so option A is correct.

Let's summarize:

• Inverted commas highlight a word or phrase used in an unusual or specific sense.
• The other three marks solve different punctuation problems, none of which apply here.

Whenever a phrase reads like a nickname or title inside a sentence, inverted commas are the mark to reach for.