Modifiers - TTP

Question 1

What are modifiers

Answer 1

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that modifies or changes, another word or expression. With modifiers always check for below things

1. Does the sentence makes sense if read literally?
2. Is the meaning conveyed by the sentence logical?
3. Does the sentence says what the author intended to say?
4. Is the meaning of the sentence clear, or must we guess as to what the author intended?

Question 2

Few examples of modifiers

Answer 2

1. Adjective Modifiers

The blue plane was sitting on the runway (adjective blue modifies the noun plane)

2. Adverb Modifiers

The little boy jumped excitedly (adverb excitedly modifies the verb jumped)

3. Prepositional Phrases

The town of Manchester is beautiful ( preposition ‘of Manchester’ modifies noun town, telling us which town is beautiful)

He took the ace of diamonds from the deck of cards (preposition ‘of diamonds’ modifies the noun ‘ace’ giving us more information about it and the preposition ‘from the deck of cards’ modifies the verb ‘took’ telling us from where he took the ace of the diamond )

4. Relative Clause

The boat that was used in the race is for sale (relative clause ‘that was used in the race’ modifies the noun ‘boat’)

5. Present Participle

The crying baby needs a nap (crying modifies the noun baby)

6. Past Participle

The tired runner took a nap (tired modifies the noun runner)

7. Appositives

The fish, a piranha, swam near my foot (a piranha modifies the noun fish)

Question 3

What is the difference between adjectives and adverbs?

Answer 3

Adjectives are modifiers that can modify only nouns or pronouns while adverbs are modifiers that can modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

The most common type of error in SC question is using an adjective when an adverb is required or using an adverb when an adjective is required

Question 4

What is wrong with the below sentence?

The reporters noticed that the prime minister’s attendance at the briefings had become less regularly

Answer 4

1 Error Type 1 using an adverb when an adjective should be used or using an adjective when an adverb should be used

Regularly is an adverb which in the sentence is trying to modify the noun attendance which is incorrect as only adjectives can modify a noun, so it should be regular instead of regularly

Question 5

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. On the tables at the event were nutritious trays of fruits and vegetables
2. Because the fighter was trying to lose two more pounds before the big fight, his trainer purchased low-calorie bottles of sports drink for him to drink

Answer 5

1 Error Type 2 misplaced modifiers

Observe carefully the adjective nutritious is placed before the noun tray, so the adjective nutritious is modifying the noun tray which is illogical, and rather it should be modifying fruits and vegetables, so the sentence should be ‘On the tables at the event were trays of nutritious fruits and vegetables’

The same issue with the second sentence ‘low-calorie bottles’ is not logical

Question 6

There are few adverbs called limiting adverb which if placed incorrectly can change the meaning of the sentence completely

Answer 6

E.g. are only, just, even, almost, merely, simply, exactly, nearly, and hardly

Question 7

What is the difference b/w below three sentences?

1. I ate only fruits and vegetables for two weeks
2. I only ate fruits and vegetables for two weeks
3. I ate fruits and vegetables for two weeks only

Answer 7

1. It means that I ate no other food except fruits and vegetables i.e. I didn’t eat meat or any other edible thing
2. This conveys the illogical meaning that I didn’t do anything for two weeks apart from eating fruits and vegetables i.e. I neither slept, nor breath, nor showered, etc. but was only eating fruits and vegetables during two week period
3. This conveys that fruits and vegetables were eaten for only two weeks no more no less, though I might have also done other activities during that period, but fruits and vegetables were eaten by me for only two weeks

Question 8

What are squinting modifiers?

Answer 8

When a modifier is placed between two words or expressions, either of which it could modify, the conveyed meaning can be ambiguous. A modifier so placed is called a ‘squinting modifier’. For e.g.

1. People who train consistently achieve score increases

In the above sentence adverb ‘consistently’ is placed between two verbs train and score, the adverb could modify either of the verbs thus the meaning of the sentence is not clear i.e. is it by training consistently that high scores are achieved or people who train -> consistently achieve score increases

Question 9

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. The library books that Jack borrowed recently were taken from his locker by a bully
2. Listening to music often lifted Clarissa’s spirits

Answer 9

Adverb recently is placed between two verbs borrowed and were, was it that Jack recently borrowed the books or if the bully took them recently

2. Adverb often here could either modify a gerund phrase ‘Listening to music’ or the verb ‘lifted’

Question 10

What are stacked modifier

Answer 10

When one modifier is placed one after another the meaning of the sentence can become ambiguous e.g.

Later today, the panel will hear from an emotional intelligence expert

Wait a min. are we talking about someone who is an expert in emotional intelligence or about someone who is an emotional expert in intellegence.

Though it is not the case that the meaning conveyed by stacked modifier is always unclear for instance

We expect the window cleaning team to take about a week to complete the job

The cyclists had a skilled bike mechanic tune up their bicycles

Since the window in the first example logically can modify only cleaning and would not modify team, the first example conveys a clear meaning

Similarly it’s clear that skilled in the second example is meant to modify mechanic rather than bike, as it would not make sense to describe a bike as skilled

Question 11

What is wrong with the below sentence?

The stressed-out teacher’s assistant felt that the children in the oversized class were not learning much

Answer 11

Since ‘stressed-out’ could modify either teacher or assistant it is not clear what the sentence is about

Question 12

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. The man is upstairs who was wearing a red scarf
2. The Boeing 747 is an amazing plane and can fly for up to 20 hours, which is very fast

Answer 12

1. Indicates that the upstairs was wearing a red scarf which is illogical, the issue happens because of noun modifier being placed far from the noun

Correct: The man who was wearing a red scarf is upstairs

2. Indicates that 20 hours is very fast which is illogical, the issue happens because of noun modifier being placed far from the noun

Correct: The Boeing 747 which is very fast is an amazing plane and can fly for up to 20 hours

Question 13

What are different roles which preposition phrases can play in the sentence

Answer 13

Preposition phrases can acts as adjectives or adverbs in a sentence i.e they can either modify nouns or adverbs e.g.

1. On the shelf was chocolate in boxes (in boxes preposition modify the noun chocolate)
2. Some species of insects live under the rock ( under the rock modifies the verb live)

Question 14

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. The craftsman worked to develop a guitar that would allow a player to perfectly expresses himself when he played a song for twenty years
2. Evert Saturday afternoon, the men who lived in the senior home played cards in the park under a tree
3. The board of directors said in 2020 the price of the company’s product would need to double

Answer 14

1. for twenty years is a preposition phrase which is illogically modifying the noun song indicating that the song would be played for 20 years
2. Play close attention to the preposition phrase it is unlikely that the entire park is under a tree so the order of preposition should be reversed to make it logical
3. Did the directors said in 2020 or they meant that in 2020 price would need to double, placement of preposition in 2020 makes it ambiguous

Question 15

What are relative clauses

Answer 15

Relative clauses are the ones that begins with relative pronuns i.e. ‘that’, ‘which’, ‘whose’, ‘whom’, ‘who’

Question 16

What is the rule to use ‘that’ and ‘which’

Answer 16

1. Never use these two to refer to people
2. You cannot use them interchangeably
3. If a clause is restrictive use ‘that’, if non-restrictive use ‘which’

Question 17

What are restrictive vs non-restrcitive clauses

Answer 17

A restrictive clause somehow restricts the meaning of the noun that the restrictive relative clause modifies. The info. that a restrictive clause adds is essential to the meaning of the sentence

A non-restrictive clause, on the other hand, does not restrict the meaning of the noun that it modifies. Thus a non-restrictive clause adds information to the sentence but is not vital to the sentence meaning.

Juice that is frozen lasts for months (that is frozen is a relative clause and is restrictive in nature as we are not talking about any juice but a particular juice that is frozen)

Mount Everest, which is the tallest mountain on the Earth, has lured adventure seeks since the early 1990s

(which is the tallest mountain on the Earth is a relative clause and is non-restrictive as it modifier Mt. Everest and there is only one Everest thus we don’t need to further restrict it, hence we have used which)

A good strategy to determine whether a clause is restrictive or not, remove the clause from the sentence if it alters the meaning then it is restrictive else non-restrictive

Question 18

Identify if below clauses are restrictive or non-restrictive

1. Science books that mention creationism have been banned from public school
2. John’s best work plans, which got filthy while he was doing yard work, have to be washed before Monday

Answer 18

1. the first one is restrictive as its not all the science books which have been banned but only those which mention creationism
2. Non-restrictive as, when we remove the sentence after removing the clause ‘which got filthy while he was doing yard work’ we still know which plants need washing i.e. the ones which are his best work needs washing

Question 19

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. The salesman sold the car to the woman who had 15,000 miles
2. The teenage girl turned her nose up at the gift to her by her parents for her birthday, which was very expensive
3. The plane is still sitting on the runway that was scheduled to depart two hours ago.

Answer 19

1. Modifier ‘who had 15,000 miles’ is misplaced and is incorrectly modifying the noun woman instead should be modifying the noun car, to fix the error place the modifier close to the noun which it should modify
2. Modifier ‘which was very expensive’ is misplaced and is incorrectly modifying the noun birthday but it should be modifying the noun gift
3. Modifier ‘that was scheduled to depart two hours ago’ is incorrectly modifying the noun runway but it should be modifying the noun plane

The reason mention these issues are, we should place relative clauses closer to the nouns that they modify and in only some cases that we can place them far from their nouns

Question 20

What is the rule for placing a relative clause in a sentence?

Answer 20

The relative clause should be placed as close as possible to the noun but it is only in few cases when they can be placed far from the noun that they are modifying

1. When modifier are separated by their nouns by prepositional phrase or appositives
2. When a relative clause is separated by their nouns by the main verb
   e. g,

The town on the island, which is a sleepy seaside village, attracts many tourists each summer

Notice relative clause ‘which is a sleepy seaside village’ is separated by the noun ‘town’ by a prepositional phrase. You might think that the modifier now is modifying island but notice that the preposition is playing the role of restrictive modifier here in the sentence i.e. it is not any town which we are talking about, but the specific town which is on the island, hence we have a complex noun which then gets modified by the relative clause.

Though just be cautious, relative clauses should only be separated by a prepositional phrase or appositives, we shouldn’t have other subjects after prepositional phrase or appositives separating the modifier

Question 21

Observe the below sentence

Marty has a fruit stand in his town’s farmer’s market that he uses not only to sell fruits and vegetables but also to spread his wisdom of logic and reasoning

Answer 21

In this case also prepositional phrase ‘in his town’s farmer’s market’ is acting as a restrictive clause as it is not any fruit stand that we are talking about, but a specific one, so the relative clause is perfectly modifying the complex noun here

Question 22

Observe the below sentence

1. Employees organized the walkout to show support for their colleagues in corporate offices aborad who had been denied an annual increase in pay in favor of record bonuses for top executives
2. The latest conservation effort will focus on restoring the habitat of the Wild Lupine, a spire-shape, flowering Legume partial to dry, sandy regions, which serves as a host plant to the endangered Karner Blue butterfly
3. The popular route along the Mount Whitney Trail is roughly 22 miles long and peaks at more than 4,400 meters above sea level, which takes 12 to 18 hours of trekking in extreme conditions to complete
4. The commonly held belief that walking 10,000 steps per day has many health benefits, which is a habit that many Americans find difficult to maintain was popularized in the 1960s by a Japanese company marketing pedometers and was not initially based on scientific research
5. Even as we speak, solar panels are being developed that will generate power much more efficiently than any panels in use today

Answer 22

1. ‘in corporate offices aborad’ is acting as a restrictive modifier here and the relative clause is correctly separated from it
2. Relative clause ‘which serves as a host..’ is correctly separated by appositive ‘a spire-shape, flowering Legume partial to dry, sandy regions’ present in the sentence
3. In this sentence relative clause ‘which takes 12 to 18 hours of trekking in extreme conditions to complete’ is not remote but is misplaced entirely noticed how after the prepositional phrase ‘along the Mount Whitney Trail’’ we have a bunch of nouns and verb in between, so the phrase is now modifying sea level which is illogical
4. Relative clause ‘which is a habit that many Americans find difficult to maintain’ here is misplaced as we don’t have any preposition in the sentence or appositive and also notice that a working verb has appeared before the clause so this is illogically modifying health benefits
5. Notice here the modifier ‘that will generate power much more efficiently’ and a noun has a verb placed in between, the sentence is still correct and is correctly modifying the noun solar panel. The only cases when a modifier can be separated by the main verb is when the relative clause modifying the subjects of the sentence is rather long, and so putting the main verb after relative clause rather than in between noun and clause would result in a sentence in which the subject and main verb are very far apart. So if the main verb indicates arrival, positioning and coming into being can be placed before the relative clauses

Question 23

What are the rules for usage of ‘that’, ‘who’, ‘whom’, and ‘which’

Answer 23

Never use ‘that’ and ‘which’ for a person, they can only be used of things, ideas, etc. while use only ‘who’ or ‘whom’ to refer to persons

Also for collective nouns like ‘team’ don’t use ‘who’ reason being when spoken as a unit it is thought of as an entity, not individual people, so we use that

Question 24

Notes about ‘whose’

Whose can refer to things or people. It is the English languages’ only possessive relative pronoun

Answer 24

1. The car whose fender I dented belongs to the police chief

2. My mother, whose bracelet I borrowed, has always been living to share.

Question 25

What is an appositive?

Answer 25

An appositive is an element of a sentence that modifies or further describes another element of a sentence by renaming it, they can appear as nouns, pronouns, noun phrases, or noun clauses

Few examples are

1. An amazing example of Renaissance art, the statue dominated the exhibit
2. The ship that Robert designed, the Shenandoah, was built in 1964
3. Gandhi’s conclusion, that nonviolent methods would be effective, proved to be correct

To determine if we have an appositive in a sentence or not, simply replace the word/phrase which you think is an appositive with the noun, if the meaning of the sentence is intact, we have an appositive

Question 26

What is wrong with the below sentence?

1. My brother, running through the park, Eduardo saw a rare California Condor
2. A brown dog, jumping up and down, Brownie was excited to see its owner

Answer 26

In both the sentences, the appositive is placed far away from the noun it needs to modify

1. Eduardo is an appositive that should modify the noun brother but is placed near the noun park
2. Brownie is an appositive that should modify the noun ‘brown dog’

Question 27

What are restrictive vs unrestrictive appositives?

Answer 27

To determine whether we have a restrictive or unrestrictive appositive, simply remove it from the sentence, if the meaning of the sentence remains intact we have an unrestrictive appositive

1. My neighbor Ted never cuts his grass
2. Mr. Cassidy, the oldest teacher at our school, is retiring next year

In the first sentence, if we remove appositive ‘Ted’ we wouldn’t know which neighbor we are talking about so ‘Ted’ is a restrictive appositive in that sentence

In the second sentence, if we remove the appositive ‘the oldest teacher at our school’ we still know who is going to get retired the next year, so it is unrestrictive appositive in the sentence

Question 28

What are rules related to comma with restrictive and unrestrictive appositives?

Answer 28

As we have seen in the difference between restrictive and unrestrictive clause, the unrestrictive clause should be separated by commas, similarly, we use commas to insert unrestrictive appositives in the sentence

My friend Sara will be in Los Angeles during the last week of June

In the above sentence, ‘Sara’ is a restrictive appositive
because by including it we will know which friend we are talking about as there could be multiple friends, so had we used commas like below

My friend, Sara, will be in Los Angeles during the last week of June

The above with commas would have signified that there is only one friend Sara and no other

Question 29

What is the difference between the below sentences?

My cat fluffy is fat
vs
My cat, fluffy, is fat

Answer 29

The first one uses fluffy as restrictive appositive indicating that there could be multiple cats

While the second uses fluffy as unrestrictive appositive indicating that there is only cat

Question 30

What are abstract appositives?

Answer 30

Rather than rename or modify a specific word or phrase, abstract appositives, as its name suggests, renames and modifies an abstract idea that has been presented in a sentence

Earth’s population of human is expected to increase substantially over the coming decades, a development that could have significant negative effects on quality of life on the planet

In above the sentence ‘a development that could have a significant negative effect…’ is an abstract appositive as it does not modify any noun or pronoun but rather the idea which is mentioned in the sentence

Question 31

What is the difference between the below sentences?

In 1957, Chien-Suang Wu was passed over by those in charge of awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, which many people found outrageous

vs

In 1957, Chien-Suang Wu was passed over by those in charge of awarding of the Nobel Prize in Physics, a decision that many people found outrageous

Answer 31

In the first sentence the modifier ‘which many people found outrageous’ is illogically modifying the noun ‘Physics’ while in the second sentence we have an abstract appositive that fits just right in.

The point, I am trying to make here is that sometimes the only difference b/w options is the usage of abstract appositives which will blend perfectly in the sentence, so be on the lookout for the same

Question 32

What is the difference between the below sentences?

The population of sharks continues to decrease precipitously and is a circumstance that is resulting in grave imbalances in the ecology of the oceans

vs

The population of sharks continues to decrease precipitously, a circumstance that is resulting in grave imbalances in the ecology of the oceans

Answer 32

The first one seems to imply that it is the population that is a circumstance that is resulting in grave imbalances while the second sentence uses an abstract appositive and indicates the clear meaning that the circumstances are resulting in grave imbalances

Question 33

What are participles?

Answer 33

A participle is a verb that functions as a modifier. They are of two types present which always ends in ‘-ing’ and past which can end either in ‘-ed’ or ‘en’

e.g,

Present participle - Swimming, jumping, running, etc.

Past participle - ruined, laminated, swollen, etc.

A noun associated with the participle can either be the (1) the agent doing the action of the participle or the (2) receiver of the effect of the participle e.g.

jumping crickets, singing men

crickets and men are the agents doing the action

ruined castle, laminated copy

castle and copy are the receivers of the effect of the participle

Question 34

What is the rule associates with the participle in SC?

Answer 34

A participle can never on its own function as the main verb in a clause. Unless they are combined with helping verb, they only act as a modifiers

The man, swimming in a sea of uncertainty, a total wreck, and completely unsure of what to do next

The above sentence does not contain any main verb, swimming seems like a verb but it is a participle and without any helper verb it cant act as a true verb of the sentence

Question 35

How are present participles used in sentences?

Answer 35

Present participles can be used as below in the sentence

1. Present participle restrictively modifying the nouns
2. Present participles that appear in the beginning or in the middle of the clause and modify multiple aspects of the clauses, are non-restrictive and can be treated as non-restrictive noun modifiers for the purpose of placement
3. Present participles phrases that appear at the end of clauses and modify the entire clause, in which case the subjects of the clauses being modified are usually, not always the agent of the participles

Question 36

Uses of present participles being used as restrictive noun modifiers

Answer 36

When present participles are used as restrictive noun modifiers, they are placed adjacent to the noun without any comma e.g.

The fish swimming in the stream made the water ripple

In the above sentence present participle ‘swimming in the stream’ is modifying the noun fish restrictively as we are not talking about any fish but the one which is swimming. Also notice given the participle is not separated off by a comma, we know for sure that the present participle is modifying it restrictively

More e,g.

a. The flowers growing in the valley are violets
b. The performers were given detailed instructions by the woman directing the production

Question 37

Uses of present participles that appear at the beginning or in the middle of the clauses

Answer 37

Sailing with the wind, the clipper ship quickly reached its destination

The present participle ‘Sailing with the wind’ modifies ‘clipper ship’. It also explains how the clipper ship reached its destination. So, the phrase is acting both adjectively and adverbially. The same phrase can be placed as below without altering any meaning

The clipper ship, sailing with the wind, quickly reached its destination

We can notice that the phrase is set off by commas and thus acting non-restrictively in the sentence

Question 38

What is the difference between the below sentence?

The fish swimming in the stream made the water ripple
vs
The fish, swimming in the stream, made the water ripple

Answer 38

In the first sentence participle phrase ‘swimming in the stream’ acts as a restrictive modifier as there is no comma to set it off, thus it is a necessary part of the sentence and it indicates to us that we are not talking about any fish but the one which is swimming in the water

While in the second sentence, we have a non-restrictive participle phrase because it is separated off by a comma and the meaning of the sentence has now changed because sentence no longer talks about specific fish rather the swimming in the stream is added information in the sentence and the sentence is about the action done by the fish

Question 39

Uses of present participles that appear at the end of the sentence

Answer 39

The horses ran across the field, kicking up dirt with their hooves

In the above sentence ‘kicking up dirt with their hooves’ is a participle phrase appearing at the end of the sentence and is not modifying the noun field but rather the entire clause ‘horses ran across the field’ and the agent of this participle phrase is the noun of the clause horse

More e.g.

The strong winds blew apart structures and pushed ocean water into the town, turning the buildings on Main Street into piles of debris

Question 40

What does participle phrase appearing at the end of the sentences describe?

Answer 40

1. The result of the actions mentioned in the preceding clauses
2. The causes of the events described in the preceding clause
3. Evets that are related to the events described in the preceding clause and were occurring while the events described in the preceding clause were occurring

Question 41

How are past participles phrases used in the sentences?

Answer 41

1. They can be used restrictively to modify nouns, in which case the phrases are placed directly before or after the nouns that they modify and are not separated by commas

e.g,
Pumpkins harvested in the fall can last until the following summer if stored in certain conditions

(harvested in the fall correctly modifying the noun
Pumpkins)

After the storm, the newspaper published photographs of buildings damaged by floodwaters

(damaged by floodwaters correctly modifying the noun buildings)

2. They can be used non-restrictively to modify nouns, in which case the phrases are placed directly before or after the nouns that they modify and are separated by commas
   e. g.

At the top of the hill stood a small house, painted white

(painted white non-restrictively modifying the noun house)

Considered the best small team in the field, the husband-wife duo regularly produces groundbreaking work

(Considered the best small team in the field non-restrictively modifying the noun husband-wife duo)

Question 42

What is wrong with the below sentences?

1. Only a tiny percentage of students pursue degrees in physics considered one of the most challenging college subjects
2. The original Eiffel Tower built in 1887, was constructed along with other unique structures for an exposition

Answer 42

In both the sentences notice how past participle phrase is used restrictively to modify the nouns that precede them, however, if you notice carefully, you don’t need to modify them restrictively but rather should be modifying them non-restrictively

Question 43

What is wrong with the below sentences?

1. Tired and hungry, the aroma from the campsite grill cheered the hikers as they climbed the last hill
2. Awarded the Field Medal, arguably the most prestigious recognition an individual can earn in mathematics and analogous to the Nobel Prize in science, in 1995, the complex relationships inherent to three-dimensional surfaces of cones and spheres were studied for the better part of two decades by world-renowned mathematician Marty Murray.

Answer 43

The sentence contains an introductory noun modifier, so it will modify whatever noun appears after the comma and in this case, it seems to illogically modify the noun ‘aroma’ not the hikers

Now these introductory modifiers could be participle/prepositional or any kind of modifier but the intent is they should be modifying the nouns

In the second sentence, we have an introductory modifier which is followed by a long appositive and after that, we hit the noun ‘complex relationship’ now it is not the ‘complex relationship’ got awarded the field medal but Marty Murray, so the modifier is not modifying the noun correctly

Question 44

What is the difference between the below sentence?

By the time the actress and her entourage arrived at the awards event, it was already half over

vs

Having almost beaten the returns of S&P 500 over the past 10 years, it is likely that the Gemini fund will soon close to new investors

Answer 44

1. In the first sentence, we don’t have an introductory noun modifier but rather a simple prepositional phrase, so the use of ‘it’ after the comma is correct
2. In the second sentence, we have an introductory noun modifier, so ‘it’ after comma does not have any referent and is clearly can’t be the one that gets modified

Question 45

What is the difference between the below sentence?

1. Awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in Chemistry, Linus Pauling’s research was wide-ranging and hard-hitting and had a positive impact on many future generations of chemists
2. Eyes wide and faced flushed, Layla’s shock was unmistakable when Ethan pulled the ring out of his pocket

Answer 45

In both of the sentence, we have an introductory noun modifier, but the issue with the sentences are after the comma we have nouns in the possessive form, so it seems to incorrectly modify the wrong noun leading to illogical results.

In the first sentence, ‘research’ is not the one which can get Nobel Prize

In the second sentence, ‘shock’ cannot have eyes and face

Question 46

What are dangling modifiers

Answer 46

They are similar to misplaced modifiers, except in that, in the case of a dangling modifier, the noun which the modifier is trying to modify is not present in the sentence and hence the modifier is left dangling in the sentence e.g.

Having completed their final exams, parties all over campus begin (Who completed their final exams?)

Not realizing that they would have to hike for miles, their boots had been left at home (boots cannot go to hike)