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Question

Difficulty: HardAdjectives, Adverbs, and Modifiers

Read the incomplete sentence below:

'Having exhaustively reviewed the financial irregularities in the municipal council, ____________.'

Which of the following options correctly completes the sentence by maintaining logical modifier agreement and standard usage?

  1. the panel submitted a detailed report to the anti-graft committee.Answer
  2. B
    a detailed report was submitted to the anti-graft committee by the panel.
  3. C
    the anti-graft committee received a complimentary summary of the case.
  4. D
    the irregularities were formally brought to the attention of the state governor.

Answer

The correct completion is 'the panel submitted a detailed report to the anti-graft committee.' because the subject directly following the introductory participial phrase must be the agent performing the modifying action.
The introductory participial phrase 'Having exhaustively reviewed...' functions as an adjectival modifier describing an action. In standard English syntax, the noun or pronoun immediately following the comma must be the entity performing that action. 'The panel' is the logical agent that conducted the review, ensuring grammatically sound subject-modifier alignment.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory modifier and its grammatical nature.
The phrase 'Having exhaustively reviewed the financial irregularities in the municipal council' is a perfect participial phrase functioning as an adjectival modifier.
Participial phrases at the start of a sentence must modify the subject of the main clause that immediately follows.
2
Determine the logical subject capable of performing the action in the modifier.
The action of reviewing financial records requires a human agent or auditing body ('the panel').
Non-human entities such as 'a report' or 'the irregularities' cannot review financial records.
3
Evaluate the options to match the logical agent immediately after the comma.
Only the option beginning with 'the panel' correctly aligns the subject with the modifier.
Placing any other noun immediately after the comma causes a dangling modifier error.

Key Concept

Dangling and Misplaced Participial Modifiers
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Topics

Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifiers

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