modifiers

Question 1

What is wrong?

The smart student works quick.

Answer 1

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

The smart student works QUICKLY.

Don’t forget that adjectives modifie only nouns, and that adverbs modifie everything else but nouns.

Question 2

What is wrong?

James Joyce is Max’s suposedly irish ancestor.

Answer 2

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

James Joyce is Max’s SUPOSED irish ancestor.

Here we shoul have 2 adjectives modifying the noun ancestor. Gramatically, both sentences are right. Logically, is not in question that James Joyce is irish.

Question 3

What is wrong?

Max’s grandmother is his supposed irish ancestor.

Answer 3

ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Max’s grandmother is his supposedly irish ancestor

Here we shoul have an adverb and and adjective. The first modifying the adjective and the last modifying the noun.

Gramatically, both sentences are right. Logically, is not in question that Max’s grandmother is his ancestor.

Question 4

What is the kind of each noun modifier bellow?

The [LAZY] cat took a nap.
The cat, [LAZY from overeating], took a nap.

[ON the couch]. the cat took a nap.
The cat [ON the couch] took a nap.
The [TIRED] cat took a nap.
[TIRED from chasing mice], the cat took a nap.
The cat, [TIRED from chasing mice], took a nap.
The [SLEEPING] cat took a nap.

Answer 4

NOUN MODIFIERS

The [LAZY] cat took a nap. - Adjective
The cat, [LAZY from overeating], took a nap. - Adjective ON the couch]. the cat took a nap. - Preposition
The cat [ON the couch] took a nap. - Preposition
The [TIRED] cat took a nap. - Past P
[TIRED from chasing mice], the cat took a nap. - Past P
The cat, [TIRED from chasing mice], took a nap. - Past P
The [SLEEPING] cat took a nap. - Present P

Question 5

What is the kind of each noun modifier bellow?

The cat [SLEEPING on the rug] is named “Sue.”
The grey cat, [WHICH loves tuna], took a nap.
The cat [THAT lives next door] is noisy.
The person [WHO lives next door] is noisy.
The city [WHERE I live] is noisy.
[A LOVER of mice], my cat hunts night and day.
The cat, [a TABBY raised on a farm], took a nap.

Answer 5

NOUN MODIFIER

The cat [SLEEPING on the rug] is named “Sue.” - Pres P
The grey cat, [WHICH loves tuna], took a nap. - Relat Pron
The cat [THAT lives next door] is noisy.* - Relat Pron*
The person [WHO lives next door] is noisy.* - Relat Pron*
The city [WHERE I live] is noisy.* - Relat Pron*
[A LOVER of mice], my cat hunts night and day. - Noun
The cat, [a TABBY raised on a farm], took a nap. - Noun

Note that the noun TABBY is modifying cat, but is also modified by the participle raised.

Question 6

What is wrong?

Jim biked along an old dirt road to get to his house, which cut through the woods

Answer 6

POSITION OF NOUN MODIFIER

To get to his house, Jim biked along an old dirt road, which cut through the woods

Touch Rule: A noun and its modifier should touch each other.

In the question, the modifier acts upon house instead of road.

Question 7

What is wrong?

Resigned to the bad news, there was no commotion in the office.

Answer 7

POSITION OF NOUN MODIFIERS

Resigned to the bad news, the office workers made no commotion.

The noun we want to modify must be in the sentece. Otherwise we call it a dangling modifier.

Question 8

What is wrong?

Using thg latest technology, the problem was identified.

Answer 8

POSITION OF NOUN MODIFIERS

Using thg latest technology, the engineer identified identified the problem.

The modifier using the latest technology needs to
refer to someone who actually used the technology.

A present participle (-Ing form) at the beginning of a sentence is often made to be dangling.

Although these forms are technically Verb Modifiers, they still need a noun subject that makes sense.

Question 9

What is wrong?

George Carlin, both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation, who also struggled publicly with drug abuse, influenced and inspired a generation of comedians.

Answer 9

POSITION OF NOUN MODIFIERS

Better: Both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation, George Carlin, who also struggled publicly with drug abuse, influenced and inspired a generation of comedians.

The modifier ‘who also…” is modifying nation and not George. It should be next to George. A simple fix is to put George between his 2 modifiers.

Best: Both shocking and entertaining audiences across the nation, George Carlin influenced and inspired a generation of comedians, even as he struggled publicly with drug abuse.

The best thing to do would be to rephrase the sentence so that one modifier is no longer a modifier.

Question 10

What is wrong?

Unskilled in complex math, Bill’s score on the exam was poor.

Answer 10

WATCH OUT FOR POSSESIVES

Unskilled in complex math, Bill did not score well on the exam.

Here, the modifier unskilled in complex math should describe Bill. However, this modifier cannot “reach inside” the possessive form Bill’s and modify Bill. As it stands, the sentence is saying that Bill’s score itself is unskilled in complex math.

Just as possessive nouns are often dangerous with regard to pronoun reference, they are also
dangerous in sentences with modifiers.

Question 11

What is wrong?

Only in the past century has origami’s development, a ceremonial activity inyented millennia ago. into a true art form taken place,

Answer 11

WATCH OUT FOR POSSESIVES

Origami-a ceremonial activity invented millennia ago-has developed into a true art form only in the past century.

We do not mean that the development of origami was a ceremonial activity. Thus, we need to rephrase the sentence to modify the noun origami itself.

Do not ignore the noun development or other abstract nouns. They follow the same rules as all other nouns: modifiers that touch them should be intended to modify them.

Answer 12

Noun modifiers with relative pronouns

• The scientists WHO made the discovery were rewarded.*
• *
• Noun modifiers are often introduced by relative pronouns such as:*

Question 13

What is wrong?

• The scientists that made the discovery were rewarded.*
• The scientists which made the discovery were rewarded.*
• *

Answer 13

Noun modifiers with relative pronouns

The scientists WHO made the discovery were rewarded.

The pronouns who and whom must modify people. On the other hand, the pronoun which must modify things, and that can not modify people.

Noun modifiers are often introduced by relative pronouns such as:
which, that, who, whose, whom, where, when

Those pronoun are subject of several restrictions.

Question 14

What is wrong?

the town whose water supply as contaminated.

Answer 14

Noun modifiers with relative pronouns

the town whose water supply as contaminated.

Surprisingly, the pronoun whose can modify either people or things, according to the GMAT:

Noun modifiers are often introduced by relative pronouns such as:
which, that, who, whose, whom, where, when

Those pronoun are subject of several restrictions.

Question 15

What is wrong?

The security guard who we meet was nice.

Answer 15

Noun modifiers with relative pronouns

The security guard WHOM we met was nice

Who is used as the subject of the verb in a relative clause, whereas whom is used as the object of the verb or of a preposition.

The answer to who we meet is whom…

The security guard we met was nice

That or whom can be dropped when the modified noun is the object of the modifying clause.

Noun modifiers are often introduced by relative pronouns such as:
which, that, who, whose, whom, where, when

Those pronoun are subject of several restrictions.

Question 16

What is wrong?

We had an arrangement where he cooked and I cleaned.

Answer 16

Noun modifiers with relative pronouns

We had an arrangement IN WHICH he cooked and I cleaned.

The pronoun where can be used to modify a noun place, such as area, site, country or Nevada. Where cannot modify a “metaphorical” place, such as condition, situation, case, circumstances, or arrangement. In these cases, use in which rather than where.

Noun modifiers are often introduced by relative pronouns such as:
which, that, who, whose, whom, where, when

Those pronoun are subject of several restrictions.

Question 17

Each noun modifier bellow is essencial or non-essential?

• The mansion painted red is owned by the lees.*
• This mansion, recently painted red is owned by the lees.*

Answer 17

Essential vs. Non -essential Noun Modifiers

Essential: The modifier PAINTED RED is necessary to identify the mansion. To answer the question What is owned by the Leesi, you would say The mansion painted red.

**Non-essential: **RECENTLY PAINTED RED provide extra information that are not not necesary to identify the noun. To answer the question What is owned by the Lees?, you would simply say This mansion.

Question 18

What is the kind of each verb modifier below?

FREQUENTLY,I walk to the store.
I FREQUENTLY walk to the store.
I walk to the store FREQUENTLY.
ON Mondays, I walk to the store.
I walk to the store ON Mondays.
WHEN my car is broken, I walk to the store.
I walk to the store WHEN my car is broken.

Answer 18

VERB MODIFIERS

• Adverb-FREQUENTLY,I walk to the store.
• *Preposition-**ON Mondays, I walk to the store.
• *Subordinator-**WHEN my car is broken, I walk to the store.

Verb Modifiers modify verbs. These modifiers answer questions about the verb, such as “how,” “when,” “where,” “why,” etc.*

Subordinators include words such as because, although, if, unless, while, so that, while, and so on.

Question 19

What is wrong?

Whistling “Beat It”, the weight was lifted.

The weight was lifted by concentrating.
The weight was lifted to free my leg.

Answer 19

VERB MODIFIERS

WHISTLING”Beat It” I lifted the weight.

I lifted the weight BY CONCENTRATING.

I lifted the weight TO FREEmy leg.

Whoever lifted the weight should be in each of these sentences.

Some verb modifiers may apply to both the verb and the verb’s subject. In these cases, you must make sure that the subject makes sense with the modifier.

(Pres Part - Prep + Ger - Inf of purpose)

In each case, the subject I makes sense: I was whistling “Beat It, “ I was concentrating, I wanted to free my leg. Make sure that these modifiers have a sensible subject in the sentence.

Question 20

What is wrong?

The nameless symphony was at last performed, decades after it was composed, yesterday.

Answer 20

VERB MODIFIERS

The nameless symphony was at last performed yesterday, decades after it was composed.

The concerto seems to have been composed yesterday, a meaning that does not make sense with the rest of the sentence.

There is an important difference between verb modifiers and noun modifiers. Verb modifiers can be placed more freely than noun modifiers, which must generally touch the modified noun. However, you should always place a verb modifier so that it modifies the right verb, without ambiguity.

Question 21

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

People that are well-informed know that Bordeaux is a French region whose most famous export is the wine which bears its name.

Answer 21

Modifiers exercises

Well-informed people know that Bordeaux is a French region whose most famous export is the wine that bears its name.

That are well-informed: INCORRECT. This clause uses the relative pronoun that to refer to people. Who must refer to human beings. Another problem with that are well-informed is that it is wordy. Avoid relative clauses whose only verb is a form of to he, because they can generally be expressed more succinctly.
.
Whose most famous … bears its name: CORRECT. This clause modifies region. Notice that whose, unlike who and whom, can correctly modify non-human entities.
Which hears its name: INCORRECT. The context of this sentence calls for an essential clause to modify the wine, since the point of the clause is to identify the wine. If the sentence ended with the wine, it would be incomplete. The clause should therefore begin with that rather than which.

Question 22

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

The acquaintances who we like most are those that flatter us best.

Answer 22

Modifiers exercise

The acquaintances whom we like most are those who ftatter us best

Who We like most: INCORRECT. The relative pronoun who should be whom, because whom is the object of the verb like. The word whom is in fact optional in this circumstance. We can say either The acquaintances whom we like most or The acquaintances we like most.
That flatter us best: INCORRECT. Who, not that, should be used to refer to people (acquaintances). Here, those is a copy of aqcuaintances.

Question 23

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

People, who talk loudly on their cell phones in crowded trains, show little respect for other passengers.

Answer 23

Modifier exercises

‘People who talk loudly on their cell phones in crowded trains show little respect for other passengers.

Who talk … crowded trains: INCORRECT. This clause is wrong because the commas that enclose it make it a non-essential clause. The logic of the sentence calls for an essential clause, because the rest of the sentence would change its meaning without the information in the relative clause. (The sentence People show no respectfor other passenger makes a sweeping claim about every human being.) To correct this error, we need only to remove the commas.

Question 24

What is wrong?

Crime has recently decreased in our neighborhood, which has led to a rise in property values

Answer 24

Which vs. the Present Participle -Ing

The recent decrease in crime in our neighborhood has led to a rise in property values

Use WHICH only to refer to the noun immediately preceding it-never to refer to an entire clause.

the recent decrease in crime has led to a rise in property values. However, whenever you use which, you must be referring to a noun-the noun that comes just before the which. Here, the neighborhood itself has not led to anything!

Crime has recently decreased in our neighborhood, leading to a rise in property values.

The -Ing form is very flexible. It can modify nouns directly (e.g., the changing seasons). It can modify verbs and their subjects (e.g., llifted the weight, whistling). It can even modify an entire clause as above, as long as the entire clause converted into a noun phrase could function as the subject of the verb that is now in -Ing form.

Question 25

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

Based on the recent decline in enrollment, the admissions office decided to reevaluate its recruitment strategies.

Answer 25

Modifiers exercises

Because of the recent decline in enrollment, the admissions office decided to reevaluate its recruitment strategies.

Based on… in enrollment. As a noun modifier, the past participle based modifies admissions office. However, the intention of the sentence is not that the admissions office itself is based on the recent decline in enrollment. The phrase based on X is often incorrectly used in place of the prepositional phrase because of, which can correctly modify the verb phrase decided to reevaluate.

Question 26

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

Last night our air conditioner broke, which caused great consternation.

Answer 26

Modifiers exercises

Last night our air conditioner broke, causing great consternation.

Which caused great consternation: INCORRECT. This modifier is dangling, since the sentence contains no
noun correctly modified by the clause which caused great consternation. The author’s intent is to comment on the event (the breakdown of the air conditioner). But the main clause does not name the event with a noun. Therefore, we need to change the modifier to a verb modifier, either a participle (causing … ) or an absolute phrase (an event that caused … ).

Question 27

Identify the kind of modifier, what it modifies, and correct what is necesary

The patient’s rare disease was treated using novel techniques developed at the medical school.

Answer 27

Modifiers exercises

*The patient’s rare disease was treated through the use of novel techniques developed at the medical school.
OR *

The doctor** treated the patient’s rare disease **by using novel techniqp.es developed at the
medical school.

Using novel techniques: INCORRECT. This modifier is dangling, since the sentence contains no noun that
is properly modified by using novel techniques. To fix the sentence, we can introduce an agent who actually used the novel techniques (e.g., a doctor), or we can switch to a prepositional phrase, such as through the use of novel techniques, that does not contain an -Ing verb form.