They were well trained by their masters (,) who had great experience

[diamondcutter]

Fill in the blank with a proper word.

On our way to the house, it was raining so hard that we couldn't help wondering how long it would take to get there. It was in the middle of Pearl City.
We were first greeted with the barking by a pack of dogs, seven to be exact. They were well trained by their masters had great experience with caring for these animals. Our hosts shared many of their experiences and recommended wonderful places to eat, shop, and visit. For breakfast, we were able to eat papaya and other fruits from their trees in the backyard.

(College Entrance Examination 2019, English Test III, China)

The answer key is “who”, which I have no doubt about. But I wonder if it’s necessary to put a comma before the “who” as follows.
They were well trained by their masters, who had great experience with caring for these animals.

 

[GoesStation]

Who is correct (though the blank is missing from the question), and the comma is required.

Both prepositions in the third sentence are wrong.

 

[diamondcutter]

What about this way?

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, seven to be exact.

 

[GoesStation]

What about this way?

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, seven to be exact.

The prepositions are correct. Congratulations!

The sentence contains a comma splice. I wouldn't be surprised to see a native speaker write it that way, but test writers should be more careful.

 

[diamondcutter]

The sentence contains a comma splice. I wouldn't be surprised to see a native speaker write it that way, but test writers should be more careful.

Do you mean that the comma should be taken out like this?
We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs seven to be exact.

 

[Rover_KE]

No.

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs – seven to be exact.

 

[kadioguy]

The sentence contains a comma splice. I wouldn't be surprised to see a native speaker write it that way, but test writers should be more careful.

I meant no offence, but grammatically I would think that sentence doesn't contain a comma splice. For me, a comma splice in the sentence would be something like:

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, it was seven to be exact.

 

[diamondcutter]

No.

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs – seven to be exact.

I wonder if either a comma or a dash is OK there.
And I'd also like to know what's the function of "seven to be exact". Is it a parenthesis?

 

[Matthew Wai]

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, seven to be exact.

The above comma is used in "She has worked at the bank for many years, nine to be exact."⁠—quoted from https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/to-be-exact

 

[Matthew Wai]

The sentence contains a comma splice.

"A comma splice, also called a run-on, occurs when a writer has connected two main clauses with a comma alone."—quoted from http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/commasplice.htm
The phrase "seven to be exact" does not look like a main clause.

 

[Matthew Wai]

And I'd also like to know what's the function of "seven to be exact". Is it a parenthesis?

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, which numbered seven, to be exact.
That is how I understand it.

 

[Tarheel]

I mean no offence, but grammatically I would think that sentence doesn't contain a comma splice. For me, a comma splice in the sentence would be something like:

We were first greeted by the barking of a pack of dogs, it was seven to be exact.

I agree.

 

[Tarheel]

I wonder if either a comma or a dash is OK there.
And I'd also like to know what's the function of "seven to be exact". Is it a parenthesis?

You could instead of putting a comma before it enclose it in parentheses. So yes, it is a parenthetical expression.

 

[Matthew Wai]

I wonder if it’s necessary to put a comma before the “who” as follows.
They were well trained by their masters, who had great experience with caring for these animals.

The comma denotes a non-defining relative clause. See: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil...elative-clauses-non-defining-relative-clauses

 

[jutfrank]

The sentence contains a comma splice. I wouldn't be surprised to see a native speaker write it that way, but test writers should be more careful.

I agree. It's not technically a comma splice, though (as has been pointed out above.)

I much prefer post #6's suggestion to use a dash.