Hello Everyone!
This is a tricky question that deals with modifiers, so let's dive in! Before we get started, here is the original question any major differences between each option highlighted in orange:
A pioneer journalist, Nellie Bly's exploits included circling the globe faster than Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg
A. A pioneer journalist, Nellie Bly's exploits included
B. The exploits of Nellie Bly, a pioneer journalist, included
C. Nellie Bly was a pioneer journalist, included
D. Included in the pioneer journalist Nellie Bly's exploits are
E. The pioneer journalist's exploits of Nellie Bly included
Since it's clear from the earlier forum discussion that this question focuses on modifiers, let's start there.
To check for modifier problems, you need to ask yourself the following:
1. Is it absolutely clear who/what the modifier is referring to?
2. Is the modifier referring to the correct person/thing in the sentence?
3. Does the modifier placement change the intended meaning in any way?
If the modifier's antecedent is clear and correct, and it doesn't change the overall meaning, it's a properly-placed modifier! Let's take a look at each option, and answer those 3 questions to determine if they are well-placed modifiers:
A. A pioneer journalist, Nellie Bly's exploits included
1. Is it absolutely clear who/what the modifier is referring to? --> YES - it's referring to Nelly Bly's exploits.
2. Is the modifier referring to the correct person/thing in the sentence? --> NO - it should be referring to Nelly Bly, not her exploits!
3. Does the modifier placement change the intended meaning in any way? --> YES - it tells us her exploits were pioneer journalists, which doesn't make logical sense!
This is INCORRECT because the modifier (A pioneer journalist) is referring to Bly's exploits, not to her.
B. The exploits of Nellie Bly, a pioneer journalist, included
1. Is it absolutely clear who/what the modifier is referring to? --> YES - it's referring to Nelly Bly, who was a pioneer journalist!
2. Is the modifier referring to the correct person/thing in the sentence? --> YES!
3. Does the modifier placement change the intended meaning in any way? --> NO!
This is CORRECT because the modifier (a pioneer journalist) is clearly referring to Nelly Bly, and it's punctuated correctly to indicate it's a modifier!
C. Nellie Bly was a pioneer journalist, included
1. Is it absolutely clear who/what the modifier is referring to? --> YES - the modifier "included" is referring to the word "journalist."
2. Is the modifier referring to the correct person/thing in the sentence? --> NO - the phrase "included circling the globe faster than Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg" should refer to "exploits," which isn't even in this sentence!
3. Does the modifier placement change the intended meaning in any way? --> YES - it removed the idea of Nelly Bly having exploits in her life, including the ones discussed in the sentence!
This option is INCORRECT because it removed the idea of Nelly Bly's "exploits," which them makes the phrase "including circling the globe faster than Jules Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg" make no sense.
D. Included in the pioneer journalist Nellie Bly's exploits are
There is no modifier issue in this sentence. However, this sentence is INCORRECT because it has a subject-verb agreement problem. The sentence only gives us ONE example of the exploits Nelly Bly experienced, but it uses the plural verb "are."
E. The pioneer journalist's exploits of Nellie Bly included
1. Is it absolutely clear who/what the modifier is referring to? --> YES - it's saying that a pioneer journalist exploited Nelly Bly.
2. Is the modifier referring to the correct person/thing in the sentence? --> NO - the pioneer journalist IS Nelly Bly, not some other person!
3. Does the modifier placement change the intended meaning in any way? --> YES - it completely changes the meaning! It now says that some other journalist exploited Nelly Bly and circled the globe faster than everyone involved!
This is INCORRECT because it drastically changes the meaning of the original sentence.
There you have it - option B is the correct answer because it used the modifier correctly and did not change the intended meaning!
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