Review: Identifying Punctuation Errors, Answer 8.1

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Question:

They wanted very badly to see Peter Weirs new film, but fate in the form of the year’s worst snowstorm intruded.

Answer:

The answer correct is not correct.

Explanation:

You should punctuate the sentence as follows:

Answer:

They wanted very badly to see Peter Weir’s new film, but fate, in the form of the year’s worst snowstorm, intruded.

OR

• They wanted very badly to see Peter Weir’s new film, but fate—in the form of the year’s worst snowstorm—intruded.

The apostrophe in Weir’s indicates the possessive (if his name were Peter Weirs, then Weirs’ or Weirs’s would also be correct). The phrase in the form of the year’s worst snowstorm is non-restrictive, or parenthetical, and you must set it off in some fashion. Most writers would use commas, but you could use dashes if you wished to emphasize the parenthetical information.