Sentence Correction

anuprajan5 wrote:Hi,

B) it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that brought Thomas Edison worldwide fame - Modifier error because Thomas Edison is placed far away. In terms of the meaning this can be ambiguous. SOmebody else invented the light bulb that brought Thomas Edison fame.

patanjali.purpose wrote:

anuprajan5 wrote:Hi,

B) it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that brought Thomas Edison worldwide fame - Modifier error because Thomas Edison is placed far away. In terms of the meaning this can be ambiguous. SOmebody else invented the light bulb that brought Thomas Edison fame.

Does it mean that we need to place the ACTUAL DOER immediately after a clause also. We know such need in opening modifiers, eg:

In addition to her work on the Miocene hominid fossil record, Mary Leakey contributed to archaeology through her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and through her painstaking documentation of East African cave paintings CORRECT (LEAKEY coming immediately after comma and opening part is a modifier).

a) But in the original question, opening part is a clause (subordinate clause). Do we still need "Thomas Edison" immediately after comma? Can we drop B/C just on that basis?

b) Can the following be correct?
Although he patented over 1,000 inventions, many of which revolutionized the modern world, it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that EARNED Thomas Edison worldwide fame.

GMATGuruNY wrote:

patanjali.purpose wrote:

anuprajan5 wrote:Hi,

B) it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that brought Thomas Edison worldwide fame - Modifier error because Thomas Edison is placed far away. In terms of the meaning this can be ambiguous. SOmebody else invented the light bulb that brought Thomas Edison fame.

Does it mean that we need to place the ACTUAL DOER immediately after a clause also. We know such need in opening modifiers, eg:

In addition to her work on the Miocene hominid fossil record, Mary Leakey contributed to archaeology through her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and through her painstaking documentation of East African cave paintings CORRECT (LEAKEY coming immediately after comma and opening part is a modifier).

a) But in the original question, opening part is a clause (subordinate clause). Do we still need "Thomas Edison" immediately after comma? Can we drop B/C just on that basis?

b) Can the following be correct?
Although he patented over 1,000 inventions, many of which revolutionized the modern world, it was his invention of the incandescent light bulb that EARNED Thomas Edison worldwide fame.

When an introductory modifier includes a pronoun without an antecedent, the referent should be the SUBJECT OF THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE.
Consider the following examples from the OG12:

Q7: As ITS sales of computer products have surpassed those of measuring instruments, THE COMPANY...
Q28: Building on civilizations that preceded THEM in coastal Peru, THE MOHICA...
Q31: Even though many of HER colleagues were convinced that genes were relatively simple and static, BARBARA MCCLINTOCK...

In each case, the introductory modifier includes a pronoun without an antecedent.
In each case, the referent is the subject of the following clause.

1. In addition to her work on the Miocene hominid fossil record, Mary Leakey contributed to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstakingly documenting East African cave paintings.
A. Leakey contributed to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstakingly documenting

B. Leakey contributed to archaeology by her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and by painstakingly documenting

C. Leakey was a contributor to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and with her painstaking documentation of

D. Leakey's contributions to archaeology include her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and her painstaking documentation of

E. Leakey's contributions to archaeology include her discovering the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstaking documentation of

patanjali.purpose wrote:]Mitch,

I have a follow-up question. Found another GMATPREP question: In the correct option (D below), SUBJECT OF THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE is not the referent of pronoun [/b]. I thought LEAKEY should follow immediately after comma as opening modifier has HER WORK, but I was wrong:

1. In addition to her work on the Miocene hominid fossil record, Mary Leakey contributed to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstakingly documenting East African cave paintings.
A. Leakey contributed to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstakingly documenting

B. Leakey contributed to archaeology by her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and by painstakingly documenting

C. Leakey was a contributor to archaeology with her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and with her painstaking documentation of

D. Leakey's contributions to archaeology include her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and her painstaking documentation of

E. Leakey's contributions to archaeology include her discovering the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and painstaking documentation of

Is there any exception to the rule you mentioned before? Does the rule does not apply when IN ADDITION TO is the opening modifier?

Pls help.

GMATGuruNY wrote:
I've expanded the rule a bit:
When an introductory modifier includes a pronoun without an antecedent, the referent should be the FIRST WORD OF THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE.

In 99% of cases, the first word of the following clause will be the SUBJECT.
The SC above presents an exception.
In the OA here (D), the referent for her (possessive pronoun) is another possessive construction (Mary Leakey's).
It is perfectly fine for a possessive pronoun to serve to refer to another possessive construction.
Since each of these constructions serves as an ADJECTIVE, the first word of the following clause is not the subject but an adjective.

The introductory modifier here serves as an ADVERB describing how Mary Leakey's contributions INCLUDE.
Mary Leakey's contributions INCLUDE -- in addition to her work on the Miocene hominid fossil record -- her discovery of the earliest direct evidence of hominid activity and her painstaking documentation of East African cave paintings.