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Difficulty: MediumModifier Placement

Early audio engineers recorded sound onto hollow wax cylinders, capturing the voices of historical figures. Having degraded over the last century, specialists now use optical scanners to play back the audio without touching the fragile wax. This technology ensures that these unique recordings are preserved for future generations.

Which of the following options is the best replacement for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    NO CHANGE
  2. B
    Because the cylinders have degraded over the last century. Specialists now use optical scanners to play back the audio without touching the fragile wax.
  3. C
    Because the degradation of the cylinders have occurred over the last century, specialists now use optical scanners to play back the audio without touching the fragile wax.
  4. Because the cylinders have degraded over the last century, specialists now use optical scanners to play back the audio without touching the fragile wax.Answer

Answer

Because the cylinders have degraded over the last century, specialists now use optical scanners to play back the audio without touching the fragile wax.
The correct option replaces the dangling participial modifier at the beginning of the sentence with a dependent clause ('Because the cylinders have degraded over the last century') that clearly identifies the subject performing the action. This structure connects logically to the main clause where 'specialists' act as the subject.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the dangling modifier in the original sentence.
The phrase 'Having degraded over the last century' is positioned at the start of the sentence, which means it grammatically modifies the subject of the main clause, 'specialists'. This is illogical because the specialists have not degraded; the wax cylinders have.
To ensure clarity and grammatical correctness, an introductory modifying phrase must clearly and logically describe the subject that immediately follows it.
2
Evaluate the options to find one that resolves the dangling modifier.
Changing the introductory phrase into a dependent clause with its own clear subject ('the cylinders') solves the dangling modifier issue.
By explicitly naming 'the cylinders' as the subject of the degradation, the sentence becomes logical and grammatical.
3
Check the remaining options for secondary grammatical errors.
The option that splits the dependent clause with a period creates a sentence fragment. The option using 'the degradation of the cylinders have occurred' has a subject-verb agreement error between the singular subject 'degradation' and the plural verb 'have'. Only the correct option resolves the modifier issue without introducing any new errors.
The correct answer must be free of all grammatical errors, not just the modifier error.

Key Concept

Modifier Placement
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Topics

Modifier Placement

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