the works now of contemporary

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the works now of contemporary

by manhhiep2509 » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:11 pm
Hello.
The question is related to question 86 in verbal review 2.

"The company focuses on the works now of contemporary English authors"
"The company focused on the works previously of contemporary English authors"

It seems to me that "now" and "previously" modify the preposition "of contemporary English authors", not the action "focus".
Is it correct?

If yes, can any adverb modify any modifier -- or at least preposition -- that are used as adjectives?
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"the company focuses on works both of contemporary English authors who live in the country and of those in cities.

OG says "The scope of those is unclear (authors, or contemporary English authors)". I did not see the point but I find that the parallel structure is violated and that "those" is unnecessary.
If I did not know the point OG says, my point is enough to eliminate the choice?

Thank you.

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by Patrick_GMATFix » Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:37 pm
"the company focuses on the works now of English authors" and "the company focused on the works previously of English authors" are incorrect sentences. "Now" is an adverb, so it can only modify a verb (an action) or another adverb. An adverb cannot modify a prepositional phrase.

In the question from the OG, "now" modifies "draws" as in "Intar now draws on the works...". If you have trouble making sense of the OG explanations, consider a source that has more in-depth explanations to OG questions. The solution below is taken from the GMATFix App.

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-Patrick
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