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Question

Difficulty: EasySubject-Modifier Agreement

Written in 1937 during a field trip to Haiti, _______

Which choice completes the text so that it conforms to the conventions of Standard English?

  1. the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God* was completed by author Zora Neale Hurston in only seven weeks.Answer
  2. B
    author Zora Neale Hurston completed the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God* in only seven weeks.
  3. C
    it took author Zora Neale Hurston only seven weeks to complete the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God*.
  4. D
    only seven weeks were needed by author Zora Neale Hurston to complete the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God*.

Answer

The correct answer completes the sentence with the novel as the subject, stating 'the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God* was completed by author Zora Neale Hurston in only seven weeks.'
The correct option is the one that begins with the novel itself: 'the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God* was completed by author Zora Neale Hurston in only seven weeks.' The introductory participial phrase 'Written in 1937 during a field trip to Haiti' must modify the subject of the main clause that follows it. Since the novel is what was written in 1937, the novel must be the subject of the main clause. This option correctly structures the sentence so that 'the novel' immediately follows the modifier.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the introductory modifying phrase and determine what it logically describes.
The introductory phrase 'Written in 1937 during a field trip to Haiti' describes a written work, which is the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God*.
An introductory modifier must immediately precede and describe the logical subject of the sentence to avoid a dangling modifier.
2
Evaluate the options to find the one where the logical subject immediately follows the comma.
Only the option beginning with 'the novel *Their Eyes Were Watching God*' correctly places the logical subject immediately after the modifier.
This arrangement ensures subject-modifier agreement, whereas the other options place 'author Zora Neale Hurston', 'it', or 'only seven weeks' as the subject, resulting in dangling modifiers.

Key Concept

Subject-Modifier Agreement
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Topics

Subject-Modifier Agreement

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