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Question

Difficulty: HardModifier Placement

Located deep inside a sandstone mountain on a remote Arctic island, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault's primary mission is to preserve millions of crop samples. This facility serves as a global safety net against the loss of biodiversity during large-scale crises. By housing duplicates of seeds from around the world, scientists hope to safeguard the future of the global food supply.

Which of the following choices is the most grammatically correct replacement for the underlined portion of the passage?

  1. A
    the Svalbard Global Seed Vault's primary mission is to preserve millions of crop samples
  2. the vault preserves millions of crop samples as its primary missionAnswer
  3. C
    the vault preserves millions of crop samples, this mission safeguards agricultural history
  4. D
    the vault, along with other conservation repositories, preserve millions of crop samples

Answer

the vault preserves millions of crop samples as its primary mission
The correct option resolves the dangling modifier by placing the noun being modified immediately after the introductory phrase. It also maintains proper subject-verb agreement and clause connection.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory modifier and its logical target.
The modifying phrase 'Located deep inside a sandstone mountain on a remote Arctic island' describes a physical structure (the vault), not an abstract concept (the mission).
Introductory modifiers must clearly and logically modify the subject that immediately follows them.
2
Evaluate the grammatical structure of the choices that correct the modifier.
The choices starting with 'the vault' correctly place the noun modified by the introductory phrase. However, some of these choices introduce new errors.
Correcting one grammatical error must not introduce another, such as punctuation or agreement issues.
3
Check for punctuation and agreement errors among the remaining options.
The option containing a comma splice and the option with the plural verb are eliminated.
Independent clauses cannot be joined solely by a comma, and singular subjects must agree with singular verbs.

Key Concept

Introductory Modifier Placement
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Topics

Modifier Placement

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