Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyModifier Placement

After working in the garden all afternoon, Elena's knees were sore. She sat on the porch to rest. Her mother brought her a glass of lemonade.

Which choice is the most grammatically correct version of the underlined portion?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. Elena felt sore in her kneesAnswer
  3. C
    Elena felt sore in her knees, they needed a rest
  4. D
    Elena, along with her dogs, feel sore in her knees

Answer

Elena felt sore in her knees
The correct answer fixes the dangling modifier by placing the person who was gardening, 'Elena,' immediately after the introductory phrase. This makes the sentence logical and grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the introductory modifying phrase to identify the action described and determine who or what logically performs that action.
The phrase 'After working in the garden all afternoon' describes an action that must be performed by a person.
An introductory participial phrase must modify the subject of the clause that immediately follows it.
2
Check the subject of the original sentence to see if it matches the logical performer of the action.
The original subject is 'Elena's knees,' which is illogical because knees cannot work in a garden.
Keeping this subject results in a dangling modifier error.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the one that places 'Elena' as the subject of the main clause while maintaining proper grammar and punctuation.
The option beginning with 'Elena felt sore' fixes the modifier placement, is punctuated correctly, and maintains singular subject-verb agreement.
This corrects the dangling modifier without introducing other grammar errors like comma splices or subject-verb disagreement.

Key Concept

Modifier Placement
Rate this question

Topics

Modifier Placement

More questions from this topic