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Sir Mark Sykes, a prominent politician and diplomat,

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by vinni.k » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:03 am
Sir Mark Sykes, a prominent politician and diplomat, died with the Spanish flu, which kills 50 million people worldwide, in France in 1919.

(A). Sir Mark Sykes, a prominent politician and diplomat, died with the Spanish flu, which kills 50 million people worldwide, in France in 1919.
(B). Sir Mark Sykes, a prominent politician and diplomat, died from the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide, in France in 1919.
(C). A prominent politician and diplomat, the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide, was the cause of Sir Mark Sykes' death in France in 1919.
(D). Sir Mark Sykes, a prominent politician and diplomat, died in France in 1919 of the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide.
(E). A prominent politician and diplomat, Sir Mark Sykes died in the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people worldwide, in France in 1919

Answer is D

What is wrong with B?

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by anuprajan5 » Mon Oct 01, 2012 9:16 am
Hi Vinni,

The problem with B is the position of the modifier as below:

which killed 50 million people worldwide, in France in 1919.

worldwide, in France - This seems to have a nonsensical meaning.

Since Sir Mark Sykes died in France, it would be relevant to have France close to where the action happened - which is resolved in D

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by vinni.k » Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:39 am
Anup, thanks for your reply.

The explanation that i have for (B) says, "the phrase "died from" is idiomatically incorrect."
I was wondering both "died from" and "died of" make sense. But D is a bit wordier, so i selected B.

Is "died from" idiomatically incorrect ? I am not sure about this idiom.

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by vinni.k » Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:02 am
Hi,

I'll be really thankful if anyone can clear my confusion.

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by anuprajan5 » Tue Oct 02, 2012 6:38 am
Hi Vinni,

I am not too sure but I have to disagree with the explanation.

Died from - It shows an indirect cause. For example in this case, contracting the Spanish flu means that that was a cause. But he died from contracting it.

Died of - It shows a direct cause. Eg: He died of an accident. The accident directly caused his death.

Honestly, I don't want to confuse you but that's the only logic that I have. I would rather focus on the meaning of the sentence. In this case, the positioning of in France is the problem and hence I rule it out.

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by vinni.k » Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:32 am
Anup, thanks again.

I do agree with your explanation of modifier. I was just trying to clear my confusion.
Anyways i will go with your explanation. Positioning of modifier in B is a problem.

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