FTCE : Knowledge of Sentence Structures

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for FTCE

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : English Language Skills

When does a dangling modifier occur?

Possible Answers:

When the subject of a dependent introductory clause matches the subject of the main clause

When a modifier used in a dependent clause does not match up to a grammatical object in the main clause

When a modifier is not placed in close enough proximity to the object it modifies

None of these

Correct answer:

When a modifier used in a dependent clause does not match up to a grammatical object in the main clause

Explanation:

Dangling modifier errors are extremely common, all the way to (and past) high school graduation. If a sentence begins with a dependent introductory clause, the subject of that clause must be the same as the subject of the main clause that follows, otherwise the modifier will modify a word that is not clearly present in the sentence, thus "dangling."

For example: "Having finished the repairs, the car drove out of Jim's Autobody Shop."

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