ACT English : Misplaced or Interrupting Modifier Errors
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Example Questions
Example Question #303 : Correcting Phrase, Clause, And Sentence Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
Just he was seventeen when he first got arrested, and he was charged with a minor shoplifting violation.
Just he was seventeen when he first got arrested
He was seventeen when he just first got arrested
Just seventeen he was when he first got arrested
He was just seventeen when he first got arrested
He was seventeen just when he first got arrested
He was just seventeen when he first got arrested
The use of "just" at the beginning of the sentence is awkward and confusing, making it unclear what exactly the adjective is modifying. The word makes the most sense if it modifies "seventeen," to emphasize the subject's youth during his "first arrest." "He was just seventeen when he first got arrested" is the answer choice that best makes use of the word "just" by placing it directly before "seventeen."
Example Question #32 : Misplaced Or Interrupting Modifier Errors
Replace the underlined portion with the answer choice that results in a sentence that is clear, precise, and meets the requirements of standard written English. One of the answer choices reproduces the underlined portion as it is written in the sentence.
The race's winner was actually only the driver to complete the full race.
The race's winner was actually the driver to only complete the full race.
The race's winner was actually the driver only to complete the full race.
The race's winner was actually the only driver to complete the full race.
The race's winner was actually only the driver to complete the full race.
The race's winner was only actually the driver to complete the full race.
The race's winner was actually the only driver to complete the full race.
The placement of "only" in the sentence is confusing and odd, as it seems to imply that the subject was merely the driver who finished. The sentence will make the most sense if "only" is used to show that the winner was the one driver to finish. The sentence which best does this is "The race's winner was actually the only driver to complete the full race."
Example Question #33 : Misplaced Or Interrupting Modifier Errors
As a child the only thing I wanted to be was a race car driver. My mothers family all lived in central Indiana, and I went to the Indianapolis 500 every year growing up. Between the colors on the cars the speed of the race and the enthusiasm of the crowd, nothing in the world seemed more exciting to a child. I would lay awake at night thinking about getting behind the wheel of my own race car. My bedroom walls were adorned with posters of the all great racers from all over the world.
When I was a teenager, I had the opportunity to race go karts on small tracks against other kids my age. Very quickly I realized I am the terrible driver. Any bumping with another driver was too much for me to handle, and I could not take the turns quick enough to keep pace with the best drivers. None of this diminished my love of racing, however, because just being at the track was such a thrill. The noise, the speed, and rushing were all more exciting from the pits than from the grandstand. If I could never be in the driver’s seat, then I would place myself behind the scenes.
With this new focus, I began studying mechanical engineering and automotive design. I might not have been able to drive a race car; but now I could design a car, build a car, and engineer it to win a race. The drivers still get all the credit for the championships, but everyone knows they would never win without the people like myself.
Choose the answer that best corrects the bolded portion of the passage. If the bolded portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
with posters of the great racers all
NO CHANGE
with posters of all the great racers
with all the posters of the great racers
with posters of all the great racers
The position of the modifier "all" in the underlined section is awkward, and the sentence makes more sense if the "all" is moved. So, the correct answer is "with posters of all the great racers," in which "all" clearly describes "the great racers."
Example Question #131 : Modifier Placement Errors
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose "NO CHANGE."
I practically all day cried to them after my grandfather's death.
I cried practically all day to them after my grandfather's death.
I cried to them practically all day after my grandfather's death.
I practically all day cried to them after my grandfathers' death.
NO CHANGE
I cried to them practically all day after my grandfather's death.
"Practically" is used here to modify the phrase "all day," meaning that the author cried for nearly the entire day. To avoid ambiguity, the modifier should be placed next to the modified phrase. Secondly, according to the original sentence, there is only one grandfather who died, meaning that the death is owned by one grandfather and the apostrophe should come before the "s," not after.
Example Question #132 : Modifier Placement Errors
It was still raining when my brother came back home. He slammed the door; he was angry. Having forgotten his umbrella, his new jacket had gotten ruined in the storm.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
having been left out in the storm, his new jacket was ruined.
his new jacket was ruined by the storm.
NO CHANGE
he had ruined his new jacket in the storm.
the storm had ruined his new jacket.
he had ruined his new jacket in the storm.
Here, we have to make sure that the modifier phrase “Having forgotten his umbrella in the storm” describes the right word. It's the brother who has forgotten his umbrella; however, the way the sentence is currently worded, it sounds like it is the jacket that has forgotten its umbrella. We can fix this by rephrasing the sentence so that the word “he” (the brother) is right next to the modifying phrase “Having forgotten his jacket in the storm.”
Example Question #133 : Modifier Placement Errors
In high school, I was a whiz at math. I always used the same orange pencil to do my math assignments. It was my lucky pencil. In college, after me losing that pencil, my math assignments all seemed much harder.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
after I had lost that pencil
due to the fact of my having lost that pencil
losing that pencil
NO CHANGE
having lost that pencil
after I had lost that pencil
Here, we understand what the writer is trying to say: that he or she found his math assignments harder after he or she had lost his or her pencil; however, the way the sentence is currently worded (“me losing”) is grammatically incorrect. The best answer choice is the one that specifies who has lost the pencil: “after I had lost the pencil.” The choices “having lost the pencil” and “losing that pencil” are not correct because they make it sound like it is the math assignments that have lost the pencil.
Example Question #134 : Modifier Placement Errors
Called by some “the most important poem of the twentieth century,” T. S. Eliot in “The Waste Land” describes the apathy and despair in Europe after the first World War.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
apathy and despair are described by T. S. Eliot in “The Waste Land”
T. S. Eliot, describing in his “The Waste Land” the apathy and despair
“The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot describes the apathy and despair
NO CHANGE
the description of apathy and despair in “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot
“The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot describes the apathy and despair
In this sentence, we have to make sure that the modifying phrase “Called by some the most important poem of the twentieth century” is describing the right subject. It is the poem “The Waste Land” that this phrase should modify, not the poem's author. So, we can correct the sentence by rephrasing it so that the words “The Waste Land” are right next to the modifying phrase.
Example Question #141 : Modifier Placement Errors
Unlike most other plants, chlorophyll is not used by Monotropa uniflora. Instead, Monotropa uniflora is a parasitic plant that gets its energy from other plants.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
NO CHANGE
no chlorophyll exists in Monotropa uniflora.
the use of chlorophyll does not occur in Monotropa uniflora.
Monotropa uniflora does not use chlorophyll.
Monotropa uniflora does not use chlorophyll.
Here, we have to make sure that the phrase “Unlike most other plants” is modifying the right subject. The way the sentence is currently phrased, “Unlike most other plants” is describing the word “chlorophyll"; however, the sentence should really make a comparison between “other plants” and “Monotropa uniflora.” We can fix this by moving the words “Monotropa uniflora” so that they are next to the modifying phrase. The best way to do this would be to write, “Unlike most other plants, Monotropa uniflora does not use chlorophyll.”
Example Question #142 : Modifier Placement Errors
This morning, I went for a walk in the woods. Pausing for a moment to tie my shoes, a tiny green snake wiggled across the path in front of me.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
NO CHANGE
the path held a tiny green snake wiggling across in front of me
I saw a tiny green snake wiggle across the path in front of me.
in front of me, a tiny green snake wiggled across the path.
wiggling across the path, I saw a tiny green snake in front of me.
I saw a tiny green snake wiggle across the path in front of me.
The way this sentence is currently worded, it sounds like it was the snake which “paused for a moment to tie [the narrator's] shoes”. We need to rephrase the underlined part so that the modifying phrase “Pausing for a moment to tie my shoes” describes the correct subject, “I.” By rephrasing the sentence to put the word “I” right next to the modifier phrase, we give the sentence the sense that it's supposed to have.
Example Question #143 : Modifier Placement Errors
David's parents own a paint shop. There, they sell paint to homeowners of all different colors and finishes. They can even blend new colors of paint for special needs.
Choose the answer that best corrects the underlined portion of the sentence. If the underlined portion is correct as written, choose “NO CHANGE.”
they sell, to homeowners of all different colors and finishes, paint.
they sell paint of all different colors and finishes to homeowners.
NO CHANGE
paint is sold to homeowners of all different colors and finishes.
they sell paint of all different colors and finishes to homeowners.
Here, the way the sentence is currently written, it sounds like it is the homeowners that come in “all different colors and finishes”; however, this phrase should really describe the paint. We should rephrase the sentence so that the phrase “of all different colors and finishes” comes directly after the word “paint.”
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