Sentence Correction

On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

A. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
B. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
C. On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
D. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

my doubt :i always believed that comma + prepositional modifiers act as adverbial modifier ,however in this problem the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" does not modify "is believed" but it modifies "rate" .
my concern is : is this normal behavior of comma+ prepositional modifier or is it just an exception
thanks and regards

aditya8062 wrote:On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

A. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
B. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
C. On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
D. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

my doubt :i always believed that comma + prepositional modifiers act as adverbial modifier ,however in this problem the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" does not modify "is believed" but it modifies "rate" .
my concern is : is this normal behavior of comma+ prepositional modifier or is it just an exception
thanks and regards

A VERBLESS clause is a clause in which the subject and verb are omitted, but their presence is implied.
Generally:
The omitted subject is the preceding noun or noun phrase.
The omitted verb is a form of TO BE (is, are, were, etc.).

A COMMA + as seen modifier is an example of a verbless clause.

Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
Implied meaning:
Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow, as [the rate at which trees grow is] seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is implied.

thanks a lot guru for your reply
please also tell me if option C is wrong because "on earth" gives us a notion that this stuff is believed in this way on earth ,an interpretation that is wrong .

i want to ask one question related to this
in a construction such as the one in C : prepositional phrase ,subject +verb + object
is it really important that prepositional phrase modifies the subject or is it that the prepositional phrase again acts like an adverbial modifier and thus modifies the complete clause ,modifying the verb .

i am asking this because if the later is true then the reason by which i had eliminated C (the one i have enumerated above ) will hold
thanks and regards

Hello, Aditya!

Personally, in the problem at hand I believe that "as seen" is a noun modifier. Here are the reasons why I think that "as seen" is a NOUN modifier:

1) it seems unlikely to me that the fact that they are believed is modified here.

Some examples:
Elves were believed to be fair and beautiful people with pointy ears, as seen from the illustrations in old books. -- here "as seen" indeed can modify people's beliefs.
Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks. -- in my opinion, it is unlikely that the fact that the rings are believed to be among X is seen in the rings

2) when it comes to C vs. E, I am very reluctant to eliminate C on the basis that it has "on Earth" set off by comma at the beginning of the sentence.
On the other hand, when I hold that "as seen" is a noun modifier here, I don't have any problems eliminating C.

is this normal behavior of comma+ prepositional modifier or is it just an exception

In general, a prepositional modifier can act as NOUN or ADVERBIAL modifier depending on the context (whether it is set off by commas or not doesn't matter).

I gave the ring to Frodo, of the Shire, so that he could dispose of it.

It might be also useful to have a look at problem 22, OG13.

I'm not sure, though, that in the problem at hand "as" is a preposition.
I like Mitch's suggestion that we are dealing here with a verbless clause. So probably "as" is a conjunction. Yet still conjunction+clause can modify a noun:

A finding that people get older and die shocked Emma. -- "that" is a conjunction

in a construction such as the one in C : prepositional phrase ,subject +verb + object
is it really important that prepositional phrase modifies the subject or is it that the prepositional phrase again acts like an adverbial modifier and thus modifies the complete clause ,modifying the verb .

I think that if prepositional phrase (set off by comma) is at the beginning of the sentence, it is likely to act as an adverbial modifier and modifies the following clause. I just can't think of an example when it is otherwise.

aditya8062 wrote:thanks a lot guru for your reply
please also tell me if option C is wrong because "on earth" gives us a notion that this stuff is believed in this way on earth ,an interpretation that is wrong .

i want to ask one question related to this
in a construction such as the one in C : prepositional phrase ,subject +verb + object
is it really important that prepositional phrase modifies the subject or is it that the prepositional phrase again acts like an adverbial modifier and thus modifies the complete clause ,modifying the verb .

i am asking this because if the later is true then the reason by which i had eliminated C (the one i have enumerated above ) will hold
thanks and regards

In my post above, I've explained more fully how a COMMA + as seen modifier should function on the GMAT.

C: On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
Error 1:
Here, the omitted subject for the COMMA + as seen modifier seems to be sunspot cycles, implying that SUNSPOT CYCLES are SEEN in the rings of tree trunks.
Not the intended meaning.

Error 2:
Generally, an introductory prepositional modifier serves as an adverb modifying the verb in the following clause.
Here, on earth seems to be modifying is believed.
Conveyed meaning: The rate is believed ON EARTH to be an indication of sunspot cycles.
The implication is that inhabitants of OTHER PLANETS do not hold this belief.
Not the intended meaning.

thanks a lot Mitch and Ilyana

honestly i really liked that verbless clause thing .you are right Mitch i was wrong to call it comma+preposition .in fact in the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" "as" is not a preposition .

now what i get from your above discussion is that this "verbless clause" will always modify the nearest noun before the comma and i think this is what is precisely making a difference in option C and E
in option C "verbless clause" is taking "sunspots cycles" as it subject (a wrong intended meaning) while in E it is taking "rate" (correct intended meaning)

kindly tell me i have interpreted you correctly
thanks and regards

aditya8062 wrote:thanks a lot Mitch and Ilyana

honestly i really liked that verbless clause thing .you are right Mitch i was wrong to call it comma+preposition .in fact in the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" "as" is not a preposition .

now what i get from your above discussion is that this "verbless clause" will always modify the nearest noun before the comma and i think this is what is precisely making a difference in option C and E
in option C "verbless clause" is taking "sunspots cycles" as it subject (a wrong intended meaning) while in E it is taking "rate" (correct intended meaning)

kindly tell me i have interpreted you correctly
thanks and regards

You are welcome. By the way, I changed my post above a little.

I like Mitch's posts very much and I learned a lot from them.
Thank you, Mitch! I appreciate your presence in this forum. Your posts were a great help in discerning the correct reasons for elimination in many problems.

However, on the point of what "as seen" modifies here we seem to disagree. In my opinion, it is a noun modifier for the reasons stated above.

now what i get from your above discussion is that this "verbless clause" will always modify the nearest noun before the comma and i think this is what is precisely making a difference in option C and E

"verbless clause" doesn't always modify the nearest noun before the comma. In fact, it more often modifies the whole clause - in English language, at least (I can't say anything about the GMAT because I can't recall any other problems on this).

I think that here it modifies the noun because to me it makes less sense if it modifies the clause (for meaning reasons). And because it modifies the noun, the omitted subject is this noun. Otherwise (if "as seen" modifies the clause) the omitted subject would be the subject of that clause. Then nothing is wrong with C (apart from "on Earth" - as opposed to other planets - on which I don't want to base my elimination because I know for sure that I'm going to miss such fine a point on the real exam).

Also there is a notion that the GMAT is quite reluctant to use Past Participles (such as "seen") to modify clauses.

ilyana wrote:
However, on the point of what "as seen" modifies here we seem to disagree. In my opinion, it is a noun modifier for the reasons stated above.

Even when a non-essential modifier refers to a specific noun within a clause, the modifier must also provide context for the ENTIRE clause.
Consider the following:
Last year John visited New York, where trash is collected every Tuesday.
Here, the non-essential where-modifier correctly refers to New York.
But -- unless John has a special interest in the trash-collecting methods of major cities -- the where-modifier doesn't seem to provide any context for the preceding clause (john visited New York).
As a result, the sentence seems illogical -- even though the referent for the where-modifier is crystal clear.

The same is true for the non-essential COMMA + as seen modifier in the SC above.
While the implied subject in this clause is the rate, the entire modifier must serve to provide context for the preceding clause.
Otherwise, the sentence would be illogical.

"verbless clause" doesn't always modify the nearest noun before the comma. In fact, it more often modifies the whole clause - in English language, at least (I can't say anything about the GMAT because I can't recall any other problems on this).

SCs test -- among other things -- precision of language.
On the GMAT, the implied subject of a verbless clause must be crystal clear.
For this reason:
The implied subject of COMMA + VERBLESS CLAUSE is generally the preceding noun or noun phrase.
The implied subject of an INTRODUCTORY VERBLESS CLAUSE is generally the subject of the following clause.
Check here for a list of OAs with verbless clauses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sc-conjuncti ... 75691.html
Check here for an answer choice that misuses a verbless clause:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/q17-og13-res ... 63164.html

GMATGuruNY wrote:Even when a non-essential modifier refers to a specific noun within a clause, the modifier must also provide context for the ENTIRE clause.
Consider the following:
Last year John visited New York, where trash is collected every Tuesday.
Here, the non-essential where-modifier correctly refers to New York.
But the modifier doesn't seem to provide any context for the preceding clause (john visited New York).
As a result, the sentence seems illogical -- even though the referent for the where-modifier is crystal clear.

The same is true for the non-essential COMMA + as seen modifier in the SC above.
While the implied subject in this clause is the rate, the entire modifier must serve to provide context for the preceding clause.
Otherwise, the sentence would be illogical.

This discussion is most useful to me. It makes me think.

I agree that any modifier (no matter whether it is noun or adverbial) should make sense in a sentence as a whole.
Last year John visited New York, where trash is collected every Tuesday. (1)
The sentence alone, without context, makes a reader wonder why the author decided to tell us about trash collection.
This reader would probably expect a modifier supplying us with more general information, such as:
Last year John visited New York, a city of one thousand surprises.

However, if I knew that on a day when trash is collected something happens (for example, John usually sees small pixies on the street), then sentence (1) would seem perfectly normal to me.


I still think that "as seen" here is a noun-modifier and modifies "the rate" (the nearest noun-phrase).
By the way, under the "noun modifier" I understand a modifier that describes a noun or noun phrase. We can't insert a verb in between a noun and its modifier.

Some modifiers might be a bit fuzzy about what they describe in the first place (it can be a noun and a verb simultaneously, so they are not noun modifiers in strict sense -- that's why I deleted that sentence about women in high heels who rushed to the shopping malls).

My argument is perhaps concerned largely with terminology.
I agree that "as seen" should fit logically in the sentence.
We have the rate at which trees grow. This rate is seen in the rings. And this fact enables us to believe that this rate is among surest indications of sunspot cycles.

However, I don't think that "as seen" directly describes the verb "is believed"; that's why I can't consider it an adverbial modifier. Adverbial modifiers, in my opinion, should directly describe something other than nouns.


Thanks for the links!
It seems that I overlooked the whole notion of VERBLESS clauses. I encountered them as I analyzed OG problems, but I never thought about any specific rules for such clauses.

I would like to ask a few questions regarding VERBLESS clauses, if you don't mind.

How do you define a VERBLESS clause? If this is any clause without a subject and verb when their presence is understood, then a lot of sentences fall into this category.

On the GMAT, the implied subject of a verbless clause must be crystal clear.
For this reason:
The implied subject of COMMA + VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the preceding noun.
The implied subject of an INTRODUCTORY VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the subject of the following clause.

I have doubts about this.
What about the following sentences?

The money was transferred to the customers, as [it was] promised.
Elaine thought of a new plan while [she was] peeling potatoes.

The implied subject of COMMA + VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the preceding noun.

GURU pardon me for asking but if i follow this then in the following sentence :E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow,as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks

the VERBLESS clause will modify "trees" .how can we justify this
thanks in advance

aditya8062 wrote:

The implied subject of COMMA + VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the preceding noun.

GURU pardon me for asking but if i follow this then in the following sentence :E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow,as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks

the VERBLESS clause will modify "trees" .how can we justify this
thanks in advance

Since trees is part of an essential modifier describing the rate, it's clear that the entire noun phrase -- the rate at which trees grow -- is the implied subject of the verbless clause:
THE RATE AT WHICH TREES GROW is seen in the rings.

ilyana wrote:How do you define a VERBLESS clause? If this is any clause without a subject and verb when their presence is understood, then a lot of sentences fall into this category.

A SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION serves to introduce a clause that cannot stand on its own.
Examples include if, although, while, as, etc.
A VERBless clause typically begins with SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION + VERBing or SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION + VERBed.
As I mentioned above, official examples of VERBless clauses can be found in my post here:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/sc-conjuncti ... 75691.html

On the GMAT, the implied subject of a verbless clause must be crystal clear.
For this reason:
The implied subject of COMMA + VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the preceding noun.
The implied subject of an INTRODUCTORY VERBLESS CLAUSE is invariably the subject of the following clause.

I have doubts about this.
What about the following sentences?

The money was transferred to the customers, as [it was] promised.
Elaine thought of a new plan while [she was] peeling potatoes.

The money was transferred to the customers, as promised.
If the intended subject of promised is the money, the GMAT likely would place as promised BEFORE the money, so it's closer to the implied subject.

Elaine thought of a new plan while [she was] peeling the potatoes.
Here, no comma precedes the verbless clause while peeling -- a different construction from the one discussed in my initial post.
When a verbless clause is not set off by a comma, the implied subject of the verbless clause is the preceding subject.
Here, the preceding subject is Elaine, so it's clear that ELAINE was PEELING the potatoes.

GURU SAID: When a verbless clause is not set off by a comma, the implied subject of the verbless clause is the preceding subject
example : Elaine thought of a new plan while [she was] peeling potatoes
.

Good Day guru
i have a follow up question here.
by the above quote do u mean that the implied subject of the verbless clause (that is not set off by comma ) is the subject of the previous main clause (Elaine in this case) OR the NOUN (NEW plan in the example) before the verbless clause ? please have a look in the following prep sentence :

sentence 1 : Even though it was not illegal for the bank to share its customers' personal and financial information with an outside marketing company in return for a commission on sales, the state's attorney general accused the bank of engaging in deceptive business practices by failing to honor its promise to its customers to keep records private. ----> "by failing" is applying to "bank" and not to the "state's attorney" (the subject of the previous clause) . how can i reconcile this?

ALSO in a sentence 2 : i saw my friend fall while running through town. . Is my friend falling while running through the town OR Did i saw him fall while running through town?

aditya8062 wrote:

GURU SAID: When a verbless clause is not set off by a comma, the implied subject of the verbless clause is the preceding subject
example : Elaine thought of a new plan while [she was] peeling potatoes
.

Good Day guru
i have a follow up question here.
by the above quote do u mean that the implied subject of the verbless clause (that is not set off by comma ) is the subject of the previous main clause (Elaine in this case) OR the NOUN (NEW plan in the example) before the verbless clause ? please have a look in the following prep sentence :

sentence 1 : Even though it was not illegal for the bank to share its customers' personal and financial information with an outside marketing company in return for a commission on sales, the state's attorney general accused the bank of engaging in deceptive business practices by failing to honor its promise to its customers to keep records private. ----> "by failing" is applying to "bank" and not to the "state's attorney" (the subject of the previous clause) . how can i reconcile this?

A verbless clause is typically introduced by a CONJUNCTION such as although, if, while, when or as.
It cannot be introduced by a preposition such as by.
Here, by failing serves as an ADVERB modifying engaging, indicating HOW the bank was ENGAGING in deceptive business practices.
HOW was the bank ENGAGING in deceptive business practices?
BY FAILING to honor its promise.

ALSO in a sentence 2 : i saw my friend fall while running through town. . Is my friend falling while running through the town OR Did i saw him fall while running through town?

Here, the verbless clause while running is preceded by two eligible subjects:
I (the subject of saw) and my friend (the implied subject of fall).
As a result, two interpretations are possible.
Case 1: I saw my friend fall while running.
Case 2: I saw my friend fall while [my friend was] running.
Since the intended meaning is not crystal clear, the sentence above is not viable.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

aditya8062 wrote:On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.

A. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are believed to be the rate that trees grow
B. On Earth, among the surest indications of sunspot cycles are, it is believed, the rate of tree growth
C. On Earth, the rate at which trees grow is believed to be among the surest indications of sunspot cycles
D. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles, believed to be the tree growth rate
E. Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow

my doubt :i always believed that comma + prepositional modifiers act as adverbial modifier ,however in this problem the phrase "as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks" does not modify "is believed" but it modifies "rate" .
my concern is : is this normal behavior of comma+ prepositional modifier or is it just an exception
thanks and regards

A VERBLESS clause is a clause in which the subject and verb are omitted, but their presence is implied.
Generally:
The omitted subject is the preceding noun or noun phrase.
The omitted verb is a form of TO BE (is, are, were, etc.).

A COMMA + as seen modifier is an example of a verbless clause.

Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow, as seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
Implied meaning:
Among the surest indications on Earth of sunspot cycles is believed to be the rate at which trees grow, as [the rate at which trees grow is] seen in the rings visible in the cross sections of their trunks.
The words in brackets are omitted, but their presence is implied.

Dear Mitch,
I have two questions about the OA??

1- Why is the verb is singular 'is'? what is the rule followed? can you shed light about the subject of the OA?

2-In VERBLESS clause, the subject is usually implied to be the preceding clause. How is this applied in sentence on hand?

Thanks