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Difficulty: MediumModifier Placement

The following passage is about the history of a unique musical instrument.

Invented in 1920 by Russian physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen, the theremin is one of the earliest electronic musical instruments. Controlled without physical contact by the performer, the instrument's sound is produced by two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the player's hands. Because of its eerie, otherworldly tone, it is often featured in science fiction film soundtracks.

Which choice most effectively corrects the underlined portion of the sentence?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    the instrument, which relies on two metal antennas, make sound by sensing the player's hands.
  3. the instrument produces sound through two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the player's hands.Answer
  4. D
    the instrument produces sound, two metal antennas sense the relative position of the player's hands.

Answer

the instrument produces sound through two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the player's hands.
The correct option resolves the dangling modifier by placing the logical subject 'the instrument' immediately after the introductory modifier. It is grammatically correct and correctly describes the relationship between the performer and the instrument.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory modifier and determine its logical target.
The phrase 'Controlled without physical contact by the performer' must modify a noun representing what is actually being controlled. The instrument itself is controlled, not 'the instrument's sound'.
Introductory modifiers must be immediately followed by the noun they describe to avoid dangling modifiers.
2
Evaluate the choices to find which one begins with the logical subject.
The choices starting with 'the instrument' correctly place the logical subject after the modifier, which eliminates the dangling modifier present in the original sentence.
This step narrows the choices down to options that resolve the modifier placement issue.
3
Verify the remaining choices for other grammatical errors.
The option containing the subject-verb agreement error ('the instrument... make') and the option containing the comma splice are incorrect. Only the option stating 'the instrument produces sound through two metal antennas that sense the relative position of the player's hands' has no grammatical errors.
The correct answer must be grammatically correct in all aspects, not just in modifier placement.

Key Concept

Modifier Placement
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Modifier Placement

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