EIGHT MOST COMMONLY TESTED ERRORS IN SENTENCE CORRECTION
1. MODIFIERS
The hardest thing about correcting modifiers is recognizing them; they're usually easy to fix. The CAT generally deals with modifying phrases. Usually set off by a comma, modifying phrases provide more information about the subject or object in the main clause of the sentence without naming it directly (so, in this sentence, usually set off by a comma modifies modifying phrases).
In order for a modifying phrase to be used correctly, it must be as close as possible to the thing or person it modifies. That's it; there's no other trick. Nevertheless, modifiers are so frequently misplaced and so commonly misused in everyday speech and writing that they can be hard to spot, which is why they constitute one of the primary and most frequent challenges in Sentence Correction questions.
SENTENCE CORRECTION PRACTICE SET 1
1. Of all the countries contiguous to China, the Soviet Union's borders were the most strongly defended.
(A) the Soviet Union's borders were the most strongly defended
(B) the borders of the Soviet Union were defended more strongly than any of the others
(C) the Soviet Union's borders stood out for the strength of their defensive capabilities
(D) the Soviet Union had the most strongly defended borders
(E) the Soviet Union's were the borders most strongly defended
2. In addition to providing more course offerings than Willow High School, the teachers at Menlo High School are better trained than those at Willow, having received more information on instructing a multilingual and culturally diverse student body.
(A) the teachers at Menlo High School are better trained than those at
(B) Menlo High School has teachers who are better trained than those at
(C) Menlo High School teachers are better trained than they are at
(D) the teachers at Menlo High School are better in training than those at
(E) Menlo High School has teachers who are better trained than at
Explanation: The Soviet Union's Borders
1. The introductory phrase, "Of all the countries contiguous to China," is the modifier. Clearly it describes a country contiguous to China that the author wants to comment on further. The country being modified, here the Soviet Union, must be named directly after the modifying phrase in order for the modifier to be used correctly, but in the original sentence we see not the Soviet Union but the Soviet Union's borders. Don't be fooled by the fact that (A) and (C) seem to begin by naming the Soviet Union. The possessive apostrophe makes the phrase the Soviet Union's borders equivalent to the borders of the Soviet Union, making the borders, not the country, the subject of the choices. Since the country, not its borders, should be modified by the original phrase, eliminate (A), (B), (C), and (E). (D) may not sound particularly eloquent, but it is the only grammatically correct, and therefore the only viable, option. (D) wins.
Explanation: Willow versus Menlo
2. Again we have an introductory modifying phrase. Here, it describes something with better course offerings than those of Willow High School, so clearly it modifies another school, later named as Menlo High School. Because the modifier describes Menlo High, Menlo must be named directly after the comma. Eliminate (A) and (D). Scanning for differences among the remaining choices, we see that they end differently: does than those at, than they are at, or than at work best with the rest of the sentence? The first works fine; we're dealing with teachers, so the pronoun (here those) should be plural, and it is; at is parallel with the at earlier in the choice, so that's fine; and than is necessary in a comparison begun with better. The second option is not grammatically incorrect but it's wordier than the first, so eliminate (C). The final is grammatically incorrect since those is necessary in order for the sentence to compare (as it must) teachers to teachers. We'll return to pronouns and word pairs later. (B) is correct.
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SUBODH KANT can identify modifiers effortlessly. In order to become perfectly familiar with them, practice identifying them in the articles or books you read and apply your skill to the CAT.
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SENTENCE CORRECTION PRACTICE SET 2
3. In 1905, The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton's novel about the blighted aspirations of Lily Bart was published by Scribner's and it was a reputable press in the early twentieth century.
(A) Lily Bart was published by Scribner's and it was
(B) Lily Bart, published by Scribner's, and was
(C) Lily Bart was published by Scribner's, being
(D) Lily Bart, which was published by Scribner's, was
(E) Lily Bart, was published by Scribner's,
4. Declining revenues resulting from a decrease in business travel, a source of income without which most commercial airlines could not survive, are going to force many commercial airlines to increase prices and decrease services in the coming months.
(A) a source of income without which most commercial airlines could not survive, are
(B) a source of income without which most commercial airlines could not survive, is
(C) and most commercial airlines use it as a source of income to survive with, are
(D) which is a source of income which is needed by most commercial airlines who could not survive without it, are
(E) which most commercial airlines use as a source of income without which they are unable to survive, is
5. Dreading another trip to the cat clinic, her veterinarian was persuaded to treat her cat at her home, a rather combative two-year-old black male.
(A) her veterinarian was persuaded to treat her cat at her home, a rather combative two-year-old black male
(B) she persuaded her veterinarian to treat her cat at her home, the cat being a rather combative two-year-old black male
(C) Jessica persuaded her veterinarian to treat her cat, a rather combative two-year-old black male, at her home
(D) Jessica persuaded her veterinarian that her rather combative two-year-old black male cat would best be treated at her home
(E) she persuaded her veterinarian that her home should be the place that her rather combative two-year-old black male cat was treated at
Explanation: The House of Little Mirth
3. Here the modifier comes at the end; a reputable press in the early twentieth century modifies Scribner's. Once you spot the modifier, you know that it must directly follow Scribner's and you can eliminate every choice except (E). Since the modifier directly describes Scribner's, it should remain a modifier and not be separated from Scribner's by and [it] was. The addition of and suggests that what follows and and what precedes it are different ideas, that Scribner's and its reputation are equally and distinctly important to the sentence. For the purposes of this sentence, the two ideas are intimately related since the final phrase exists only to provide more information about Scribner's, not to be stressed in its own right. Therefore, the final phrase should modify Scribner's and you can eliminate (A) and (B). As for (C), being is unnecessary and therefore creates an error in expression. Finally, (D) suggests that Lily Bart was the reputable press. Only (E) uses the modifier correctly.
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SUBODH KANT knows that Sentence Correction questions containing modifier errors can be answered quickly and accurately by one who knows how they work. Since there's often only one choice that uses the modifier correctly, mastering modifiers can result in fast points.
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Explanation: Struggling Airlines
4. No, this isn't the most eloquent sentence that one could write, but it is grammatically correct and uses modifiers correctly. In the original sentence, the clause beginning a source modifies business travel, and follows it immediately, as any well placed modifier should. Answer choices (C) and (D) create an error by altering that clause so that it no longer acts as a modifier, though it must for the same reasons that Scribner's needed its modifier above. The remaining choices differ with respect to the final verb: is is or are correct? Since the subject of the sentence is declining revenues, itself plural, then the verb should be are. Eliminate (B) arid (E). Only (A) remains.
Explanation: The Combative Cat
5. This sentence contains two modifier challenges: the introductory clause marks one modifier and the final clause (a rather combative...) marks another. As the sentence stands, the initial modifier is what's known as a dangling modifier; there is no subject in the sentence that it can modify. Knowing that you need the name of whoever dreads this trip to follow the modifier, you can eliminate (A), (B), and (E). She in (B) is unacceptable because the sentence doesn't tell you who "she" is. Both (C) and (D) correctly place the second unflattering modifier next to cat, but (D) is certainly wordier (would best be treated loses when compared to to treat). That leaves (C).