Help with Modifiers - MGMAT-1

Sri, you will have better luck if you ask one question per post. This will allow the discussion to be more focused.

Patrick_GMATFix wrote:Sri, you will have better luck if you ask one question per post. This will allow the discussion to be more focused.

Hello Patrick,

Thanks for the tip. I have edited my above post and have re-posted the questions seperately. Thanks again.

Best Regards,
Sri

I don't think your answer is worse than the book's Sri. "Upon setting foot in the cathedral" is equivalent to "Upon entering the cathedral"

The 2nd solution you suggested is not a good one. "upon entering the cathedral" is acting as an adverb telling us when the tourists were amazed. Adverbial modifiers don't have to be placed right next to their target but they do need to be placed in a way that makes the reference easy to understand. Because there is no break between "the tourists" and "upon entering the cathedral", the 2nd sentence is unnecessarily difficult to follow. Just introducing a comma between the two would help (ie "the tourists, upon entering the cathedral, were amazed"). Still a better position for the modifier to make the sentence easier to understand would be "the tourists were amazed by the windows upon entering the cathedral"

Finally, note that all these sentences are passive ("tourists were amazed by the windows"). It doesn't make them wrong but it's good habit to note passive voice because it's typically (not always) weaker than active voice.

-Patrick

Patrick_GMATFix wrote:I don't think your answer is worse than the book's Sri. "Upon setting foot in the cathedral" is equivalent to "Upon entering the cathedral"

The 2nd solution you suggested is not a good one. "upon entering the cathedral" is acting as an adverb telling us when the tourists were amazed. Adverbial modifiers don't have to be placed right next to their target but they do need to be placed in a way that makes the reference easy to understand. Because there is no break between "the tourists" and "upon entering the cathedral", the 2nd sentence is unnecessarily difficult to follow. Just introducing a comma between the two would help (ie "the tourists, upon entering the cathedral, were amazed"). Still a better position for the modifier to make the sentence easier to understand would be "the tourists were amazed by the windows upon entering the cathedral"

Finally, note that all these sentences are passive ("tourists were amazed by the windows"). It doesn't make them wrong but it's good habit to note passive voice because it's typically (not always) weaker than active voice.

-Patrick

Hello Patrick,

Thanks a lot for your prompt reply and for the excellent explanation. It is clear now. Thank you again for all your help.

Best Regards,
Sri