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Question

Difficulty: MediumModifier Placement

Read the following passage:

Marine archaeologists recently explored the ruins of a seventeenth-century merchant ship off the Greek coast. Undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries, the divers mapped the wreckage carefully. They hoped to uncover clues about ancient Mediterranean trade routes.

Which of the following options represents the most grammatically correct revision of the underlined portion?

  1. A
    Undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries, the divers mapped the wreckage carefully
  2. Undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries, the wreckage was mapped carefully by the diversAnswer
  3. C
    The wreckage had lain undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries, the divers mapped it carefully
  4. D
    Undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries, the wreckage of the ship, along with several cargo jars, were mapped carefully by the divers

Answer

The correct answer is the option that places the wreckage immediately after the introductory phrase while maintaining grammatical correctness and avoiding subject-verb agreement issues.
The correct option resolves the dangling modifier by placing the wreckage directly after the introductory descriptive phrase. This establishes a logical relationship between the modifier and its subject, and the rest of the sentence is grammatically correct.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory modifying phrase and determine its logical subject.
The phrase is 'Undisturbed on the seafloor for centuries,' and it must describe the wreckage, not the divers.
This determines which noun must immediately follow the comma to avoid a dangling modifier.
2
Evaluate the options to see which noun follows the comma and eliminate options that keep the dangling modifier.
The original phrasing is eliminated because it places 'the divers' next to the modifier. The options placing 'the wreckage' after the modifier are retained.
This ensures the modifier is not dangling.
3
Analyze the remaining choices for grammatical errors like comma splices or subject-verb agreement.
The option turning the phrase into a separate clause is eliminated due to a comma splice. The option with the plural verb is eliminated because the singular subject 'wreckage' requires the singular verb 'was mapped' rather than 'were mapped.'
This leaves the only grammatically correct and logically structured option.

Key Concept

Introductory modifiers must be placed immediately adjacent to the noun they logically describe to avoid a dangling modifier.
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Topics

Modifier Placement

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