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Question

Difficulty: HardModifier Placement

Read the passage below. To ensure the sentence is grammatically correct and avoids misplaced or dangling modifiers, which of the following phrases should be used to fill in the blank?

Choices:
- 'the researchers discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium'
- 'a cluster of glowing mycelium was discovered by the researchers'
- 'the researchers, who was searching for new species, discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium'
- 'which allowed the researchers to discover a cluster of glowing mycelium'

Answer:Bioluminescent fungi glow in the dark to attract insects that disperse their spores. While trekking through the damp Olympic Peninsula at night, 【the researchers discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium】 clinging to a decaying hemlock log.

Answer

The correct phrase to fill in the blank is 'the researchers discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium' because it establishes the researchers as the logical subject performing the action of trekking, avoiding a dangling modifier, while maintaining grammatical correctness.
The phrase 'the researchers discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium' is correct because the subject 'the researchers' logically aligns with the introductory modifier 'While trekking through the damp Olympic Peninsula at night.' It also forms a complete, independent clause without any grammatical errors.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the action and subject of the introductory modifying clause.
The introductory clause is 'While trekking through the damp Olympic Peninsula at night.' The action is 'trekking,' which requires a person or group of people as the logical subject.
An introductory modifying phrase must clearly and logically describe the subject that immediately follows it.
2
Eliminate choices that create a dangling modifier.
The phrases 'a cluster of glowing mycelium was discovered by the researchers' and 'glowing mycelium was discovered...' place the mycelium immediately after the comma, illogically suggesting that the fungi were trekking through the forest.
This error is known as a dangling modifier, as the true subject of the modifier is misplaced or absent from the main clause.
3
Evaluate the remaining options for other grammatical errors.
The phrase 'the researchers, who was searching for new species, discovered a cluster of glowing mycelium' contains a subject-verb agreement error ('researchers... was'). The phrase 'which allowed the researchers to discover...' turns the main clause into a relative clause, creating a sentence fragment.
A grammatically correct sentence must have agreement between subjects and verbs, and it must contain at least one independent clause.

Key Concept

Modifier Placement
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Topics

Modifier Placement

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