Correct: Queen Elizabeth—whose name rhymes with Shmeen Murpipzalik, sort
of—is the longest-reigning monarch of the U.K. ever.
Also correct: Queen Elizabeth (whose name rhymes with Shmeen Murpipzalik,
sort of) is the longest-reigning monarch of the U.K. ever.
But here’s a question: Is it wrong to use commas instead of dashes or
parentheses? No. This is just a style choice. So the SAT will not test the
difference among use of commas, dashes, and parentheses. More likely, it will
give you an error like this:
Incorrect: (Queen Victoria used to be the longest-reigning monarch of the U.K.),
but now she’s the second-longest-reigning monarch of the U.K.
Correct: Queen Victoria used to be the longest-reigning monarch of the U.K.,
but now she’s the second-longest-reigning monarch. of the U.K.
In other words, parentheses or a dash can always be replaced by a comma
without breaking any International Grammar Laws, but the opposite is not true.
We cannot replace any old comma with dashes or parentheses.
And that’s it! Now on to some weightier ideas!